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2014 ELECTIONS: University students, military members take steps to vote
By Lii Wen and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
A campaign to encourage young people to vote in the nine-in-one elections on Saturday next week has received enthusiastic support from students at National Taiwan University, the National Taiwan University Students Association (NTUSA) said yesterday.
Since the launch of the campaign two weeks ago, more than 200 students have purchased discount tickets for charter buses arranged by the NTUSA, dubbed “Buses of Democracy (民主巴士),” which are to lead from the school to locations across the nation on Friday and Saturday next week.
By law, Taiwanese voters can vote only at the location of their household registration, meaning that students living in dormitories typically must return home to cast their ballots.
Students often forfeit their right to vote due to the inconvenience and expense of traveling home, NTUSA president Sandy Wang (王日暄) said.
“The campaign aims to increase youth participation in politics, with the belief that young people should take part in determining their own future,” Wang said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense said that soldiers performing their compulsory military service are to be given time off on election day to vote.
“After an amendment to rules on personnel and workweek hours, all conscripts who have undergone the preliminary training program are to be allowed to return to their home districts to vote,” ministry spokesperson Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said.
For commissioned officers and active-duty personnel stationed offshore, adjustments are to be made to duty rotations to allow some to travel to vote, Lo said.
source: Taipei Times
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