- Home
- Oct. 23, 2020 | Plan Ahead for Voting on Tuesday,...
- Title:
- Oct. 23, 2020 | Plan Ahead for Voting on Tuesday, Nov. 3
- Date:
- 2020-10-23
- Category:
- Presidential Memos
- Harvested from:
- https://perma.cc/H79Z-9K2U
- Type:
- text
- Digital Format:
- text/html
- Reference Link:
- https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/fridayletter/letters/president_memo_2020-10-23.html
Please note, archived email messages are in a variety of formats and may not display as originally intended. Some images, links, and functionality may be broken or out of date.
Oct. 23, 2020 | Plan Ahead for Voting on Tuesday, Nov. 3
TO: University of Idaho Students, Faculty and Staff
FROM: Scott Green, President
Torrey Lawrence, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President
Lauren Carlsen, ASUI President
Barbara Kirchmeier, Faculty Senate Chair
Chad Neilson, Staff Council Chair
DATE: Oct. 23, 2020
SUBJECT: Plan Ahead for Voting on Tuesday, Nov. 3
There is no doubt that casting your ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 3, is vitally important. ASUI recently approached the administration about changing the upcoming election day to a university holiday to make voting more accessible to students, staff and faculty. Many people support their goal and enthusiastic initiative, but a calendar change like this was not possible due to policy that would have required extending the semester into Thanksgiving or Winter breaks.
The university provides a number of opportunities to allow sufficient access to the polls; however, everyone who wants to vote should make a plan for Nov. 3 — how you will vote, where you will vote and when you will vote. We offer the following resources to assist you:
- ASUI’s Vandals Vote webpage.
- Voter information for Idaho residents.
- Voter information for Washington residents.
- Voter information for other states.
With the threat of COVID-19, we strongly encourage voting in advance or by mail to decrease in-person traffic at polls on Election Day. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot in Idaho is today, Oct. 23. For those registered to vote in Latah County, early voting is available now through Friday, Oct. 30, at the Latah County Courthouse. Idaho polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3.
Instructors teaching classes on Nov. 3 are encouraged to offer alternative class activities that would not require attendance (e.g. special projects, recorded resources, etc.) so students have greater flexibility to vote. Instructors are also encouraged to incorporate the topic of civic duty into their lectures and course activities during this time, when applicable. Policy prohibits employees from using their position to support specific parties and candidates, but we can encourage voter participation. See FSH 6230 for details.
For university employees who want to vote on Election Day, FSH 3710 addresses schedule flexibility: “G-3. Polling places are typically open extended hours and absentee voting is widely available. However, employees who are unable to vote outside of scheduled hours will be allowed time off to vote. If available, an employee may use accrued annual leave, compensatory time or, if approved in advance, may be able to make up time lost to vote within the same work week [FSH 3460] through a flexible work schedule. Otherwise, time off will be approved, but unpaid.” Classified and hourly employees should make arrangements with their supervisors. Due to the nature of their positions, exempt staff and faculty already have flexibility in their work schedules.
As a final measure to increase voter options, we discourage units from having events or meetings on Nov. 3, unless absolutely necessary.
We encourage everyone to support voting on Nov. 3 through flexibility and decreasing potential scheduling challenges. Thank you for helping fellow Vandals participate in this important civic duty.
Scott Green
President
president@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/president
Torrey Lawrence
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President
provost@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/provost
Lauren Carlsen
ASUI President
asui-president@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/asui
Barbara Kirchmeier
Faculty Senate Chair
barbara@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/facultysecretary
Chad Neilson
Staff Council Chair
staff-chair@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/staffcouncil