With election season around the corner, the Office of Government Relations will be sponsoring the Issues, Campaigns and Election 2010 forum this Friday, Oct. 8 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms.

The event is designed to cover several topics surrounding the election season from the basics of the election process to filling out an absentee ballot to the main issues that are being discussed this year.

To begin, Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson will give a presentation about the preparation for voting.  She is “an expert that will show and talk about what to expect,” Rochelle Black said, the vice president for Government Relations at OU.

Other presentations that will be given during the forum include: a discussion about the state budget crisis lead by Michigan House Fiscal Agency Director Mitch Bean while Executive Director of State Universities of Michigan Dr. Michael A. Boulus will talk about higher education and where OU ranks in relation to the rest of the nation as well as a presentation about the bigger picture of politics and the possible changes on the horizon, which will be given by Inside Michigan Politics Editor Bill Ballenger.

An open microphone session is planned to follow the forum as a way for candidates, who are currently running for statewide offices or legislative seats in Oakland or Macomb counties, to share what they are all about.

Black said this is the first time the event will be hosted as a full afternoon special and expects a great turnout, as all faculty, staff, students and surrounding community members alike are welcome.

The event is geared more toward students, Black says, as they are more likely to be the first-time voters looking to learn the process.

But she encourages all faculty and staff to stop in at some point, as it will be beneficial to hear about “what is going on so we know what we’re dealing with,” she said.  “I think they will go away informed and very enlightened.”