As it is nearing election season in Mississippi, Oct. 10 will mark the final day to register to vote.
Tony Rook, Oktibbeha County’s Circuit Court Clerk, said while students have the option of registering to vote either here in Oktibbeha County or at home, students should start to weigh their options.
Rook said there were many pros and cons to registering in Starkville versus at home.
“If you register as a student here but you’re called for jury duty, you’ll be treated just like anyone else. Just because you’re a student does not mean you’re excused from jury duty,” Rook said.
It is not uncommon for students to be called into jury duty. Rook said he knows of two grad students in jury duty currently. Often, students are summoned by the court and could serve for weeks at a time.
According to Rook, students who register to vote outside of Starkville can be legally excused from jury duty.  
“Students need to ask themselves this: where would you rather affect change? Here, or where you and your family are from, where you know the community and where you might even end up living?” Rook said.
Some Mississippi State University students are unsure of how to register or have not been exposed to the topic.
Sawyer Sterling, a sophomore studying kinesiology, said he fit into this category.
“I have absolutely no idea how to register to vote. I think you get a piece of paper in the mail, fill it out and send it to the government and you’re registered,” Sterling said.
Rook described two different ways to register.
“First, you could report to your Circuit Clerk’s office and fill out a form. Second, you can go on the Secretary of State’s website, print out a voter registration form, fill it out and mail it to your Circuit Clerk’s office and then you’re registered,” Rook said.
Once registered in their preferred area, Rook said students should decide who to vote for after they educate themselves on candidates.
“This is an important personal decision that you make, and you have the power to choose who represents your interests, so you shouldn’t arbitrarily decide who that person is,” Rook said.
After participating in his first election, Sterling said he wished he had done more research before voting.
“When I had voted in my first election, though it was heavily promoted and the information was out there, I was not nearly as educated as I should’ve been,” Sterling said.
Even though Rook described registration as a fairly easy process, some students, like Sterling, have still been unaware of the voter registration process.
Zac Clay, elections commissioner of Student Association, said educating students on the elections process was the first step in growing student participation.
“I believe that better voting education and a class excuse for students to vote would be a great way to promote this privilege that so many have fought for,” Clay said.
Kylah Hooks, chief justice of SA’s Judicial Council, agreed with Clay.
Hooks said large organizations should be educated on how to teach their students how to register to vote. If this trend were to start, Hooks said she felt smaller organizations would follow suit, and the youth participation rate would grow.
For more information on voter registration, visit the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website.