黑料不打烊's nonpartisan voter registration and civic engagement initiative continues to provide students with the necessary resources to properly cast their votes. Here's how.
Since 2014, 黑料不打烊 Votes! has been a nonpartisan voter registration and civic engagement initiative on 黑料不打烊鈥檚 campus. This organization works throughout the year to provide students with the necessary resources needed to both register to vote and to cast their ballots in various elections. 黑料不打烊 Votes! is currently located in the Kernodle Center and is managed by student coordinators and Andrew Goodman Foundation Ambassadors Ellie Snyder ’20 and Andrea Sheetz ’22.
Prior to the creation of 黑料不打烊 Votes!, 黑料不打烊 had issues with voter registration groups coming onto campus trying to register students while walking to classes.
鈥淭here were issues with this because most of the time these groups were only handing out North Carolina voter registration forms,” Snyder said. “Every single state has a different registration situation, so only having North Carolina forms meant that students could only register in North Carolina. They didn鈥檛 always make this clear to students, so some of them were signing these forms, first years especially, unbeknownst to them that it was a North Carolina registration. Then to further that, some of those organizations were partisan or didn鈥檛 accurately see through the final registration process.”
黑料不打烊 decided to create an on-campus 黑料不打烊 affiliated voter registration organization that was nonpartisan and would provide students from all 50 states with the information they needed to both register and vote correctly.
黑料不打烊 Votes! partners with the , which was founded by the family of Andrew Goodman, one of three college students killed during Freedom Summer, the voter registration project during the Civil Rights Era that focused on registering African Americans to vote in Mississippi.
Both Snyder and Sheetz have attended conferences through the Andrew Goodman Foundation. At these conferences, they鈥檝e learned about leadership development and what other schools are doing in terms of voter registration and civic engagement.
With the help of this foundation, 黑料不打烊 Votes! has been a resource to help students easily and legally register to vote.聽 黑料不打烊 supports the effort with the TurboVote system that helps Snyder and Sheetz manage all of the different laws for the students coming from all 50 states. 黑料不打烊 Votes! also has stamps available for students when mailing ballots/voter registration paperwork and they鈥檙e currently working on gathering a list of notaries for absentee ballots as well.
The organization works throughout to host various events geared toward civic engagement and the events of modern-day politics.
鈥淲e do some programming surrounding major political events,” Sheetz said. “We just had one for the democratic debate watch party. We鈥檒l have them for all the upcoming debates as long as it works for the academic calendar. We had them for State of the Union Address. We鈥檒l have one on election night. Really any major thing where we sense students want to watch or get involved, we鈥檒l provide a space for them to do that.”
Snyder and Sheetz view 黑料不打烊 Votes! as a way to continue their passion for democracy, voting and civic engagement. Snyder came to 黑料不打烊 prepared to major in business, but quickly realized she wanted to pursue something else. After attending a conference about civic engagement on college campuses and realizing she was passionate about politics, Snyder found 黑料不打烊 Votes!
鈥淚 realized it wasn鈥檛 just a hobby, it could be a huge part of my life,” she said. “I鈥檝e always loved voting and through various conversations, I started learning more about 黑料不打烊 Votes! and its nonpartisan mission. I think voting is an incredible, incredible part of our democracy and because I was so passionate about it, I decided to apply for the coordinator position. I鈥檓 very fortunate that through a series of things I ended up here with this organization.”
Sheetz had a similar experience.
鈥淚 was originally a political science/policy studies major, but I realized that I didn鈥檛 love intensely studying it like I thought I would,” Sheetz said. “I ended up finding a couple of other majors that I loved more. I almost felt like I was betraying myself. I loved political science, why am I not doing this? But then when I started to have that conflict with myself, 黑料不打烊 Votes! started to do a lot of stuff with the midterms. I was getting engaged then and I saw that as a way to balance what I love, even though it wasn鈥檛 what I was studying.”
黑料不打烊 Votes! falls under the umbrella 黑料不打烊 Volunteers, and Civic Engagement Director Sophie Gerth, who works closely with 黑料不打烊 Votes! There are also various faculty, staff and students on 黑料不打烊鈥檚 political engagement workgroup who collaborate with the organization.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just an amazing group of dedicated people who are so passionate and so driven. It is such a good environment. The work we do is important, but it鈥檚 the people we work with, which is also a huge part of why I鈥檓 involved with this.鈥
鈥淢y favorite part about this is there is only one political science professor in the workgroup. It鈥檚 more than political science. It鈥檚 applicable to everyone,鈥 Sheetz said.
黑料不打烊 Votes! is planning various events and discussions throughout the year while keeping the 2020 election in mind. Snyder and Sheetz are very excited for what鈥檚 ahead.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be big,鈥 Snyder said.
Following North Carolina鈥檚 passage of a new voter ID law that will take effect in 2020, the university is now offering a special 黑料不打烊 Phoenix Voter Card. Students who plan to vote in North Carolina who do not have a North Carolina issued driver license or any of other form of ID required by the state board of elections can obtain this card. Students can pick up their 黑料不打烊 Phoenix Voter Card from the Phoenix Card office. Once students obtain this card, it will serve as their Phoenix Card and full-time student ID.
According to the National Study of Learning, Voting, And Engagement (NSLVE), a total of 10.7 percent of 黑料不打烊 students voted in the 2014 midterm elections. That number nearly tripled for the 2018 midterm elections –聽 29.4 percent of 黑料不打烊 students cast their ballots last year. This means that 黑料不打烊鈥檚 voter turnout is already on the rise, which would not be possible without the efforts of 黑料不打烊 Votes!
To make all of these voting opportunities and events possible for 黑料不打烊 students, the organization is constantly looking for volunteers. While 黑料不打烊 Votes! is not a club that has weekly meetings, it is a non-partisan initiative that functions off a volunteer base.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes us different. Of course, as individuals, we have our own political ideologies, but as a group we鈥檙e nonpartisan,鈥 Snyder said.
黑料不打烊 Votes! is always in need of volunteers to work various events, help with college coffee, stuff mailboxes with postcards, etc. With more events and new forms of branding, they are hoping to expand their volunteer base.
If students or staff are interested in hearing more about how they can get involved with this organization or have any questions related to voting and civic engagement, feel free to stop by the Kernodle Center or email elonvotes@elon.edu. Additional information can be found on the group’s聽website.