Local organizations mobilize to register student voters ahead of presidential election – The Cavalier Daily

With the presidential election less than 30 days away, voter registration efforts are intensifying at both contracted independent on-site organizations and off-site organizations. University students face a choice before casting their vote in an election year. This includes where and how they register and whether they vote in person or by mail. In response, both partisan and nonpartisan groups are working with students and Charlottesville residents to register them to vote in Virginia before the Oct. 15 deadline.

Because presidential election years typically see higher voter turnout and registration rates — Charlottesville saw a surge in new voter registrations in September — the groups working to promote voter registration and political engagement also saw increased political engagement among students and residents. An estimated over eight million people have reached voting age since the 2022 midterm elections, bringing the total number of eligible Gen Z voters to 41 million.

NextGen America — a nonpartisan youth voting organization that aims to increase youth participation in elections — is one of the local CIOs that has used political engagement to encourage students to register to vote this election season. With branches at several universities across the country, the organization has mobilized in nearly twenty states this year, including Virginia.

Abigail Van Eerden, president of the university’s NextGen chapter and a fourth-year student, spoke about some of the organization’s efforts in recent weeks to register students and become more politically engaged. Van Eerden said that in her opinion, the most effective event NextGen conducted this semester was voter registration the morning after the presidential debate. 27 people were registered, more than the usual average of 10 for other voting events.

Van Eerden said voting is especially fun this presidential election year because students seem excited to register and ask organizers questions as they cast, such as how to request an absentee ballot and how to re-register to vote registered in Charlottesville.

“I think one of the most important things that NextGen does is … it makes people feel like they’re doing something politically effective,” Van Eerden said. “I think that’s a really empowering effect that NextGen has, just because it allows students to express their opinions through their voices.”

Van Eerden said NextGen has also successfully hosted registration events alongside the university. She said they recently had the opportunity to work with University President Jim Ryan’s office to register voters at the “Run with Jim” event – a regular event where students have the opportunity to go for a morning run with Ryan . NextGen also previously partnered with Housing and Residence Life to host an event on October 4 at the Lile-Maupin and Tuttle-Dunnington first-year residence halls to register first-years to vote.

Because NextGen is a non-partisan organization, it can partner with universities to host events. Under campaign finance law, public universities are not allowed to work with partisan organizations or politicians.

“What I like most about NextGen’s impartiality is the ability to engage with U.Va. as an institution,” Van Eerden said. “You can organize events together with us without it appearing as if you support a particular party or a particular issue group.”

Van Eerden also discussed events where NextGen would collaborate with organizations off-site for the first time. She said she is excited about an upcoming informational presentation at the NAACP local chapter about voter registration and voting in Charlottesville.

“I’m very happy about this because this will be our first event where we work with another organization outside of Grounds,” said Van Eerden. “I do think there is unequal access to information [Charlottesville] Locals and university students, and I want to do my part to minimize this gap.”

In addition to nonpartisan organizations like NextGen, politically connected Grounds organizations are also taking steps to register voters and participate in the election.

Ella Nelsen, president of University Democrats and a fourth-year student, spoke about some of the initiatives her organization has participated in this semester. Nelsen said UDems is working not only to register people to vote, but also to campaign for Democratic candidates.

“In the fall, our main goal is to campaign for Democratic candidates and get students registered to vote and get them excited about voting,” Nelsen said. “We like to go out into the Charlottesville community, knock on doors and then travel to swing neighborhoods because we like to go where we can have the most impact.”

Nelsen said the organization typically runs voter registration campaigns two to three times a week in the fall, but that those campaigns will become more frequent as Virginia’s voter registration deadline approaches.

Nelson also said the UDems will hold events every day starting the Friday before the election, including painting the Beta Bridge and working at polling stations.

Across the aisle, the College Republicans have also been active in organizing phone banks and door knocking. According to its Instagram, the university group mobilized the most volunteers of any CR group in the country at one of its door knocking events in Albemarle County.

But voter registration is a bipartisan effort, and the CRs attended a joint election meeting with the UDems on South Lawn on Oct. 8. The event was organized by Hoos Vote – a Center for Politics organization focused on student voter registration.

Keshav Vermani, student voter registration leader at Hoos Vote and a third-year student who attended the voting event, said there is bipartisan support for increasing voter registration and that everyone should exercise their right to vote.

“It kind of shows this level of unity on campus, that even different ideologies can still get along and promote the idea of ​​civic engagement,” Vermani said.

After voting, students still have to decide how they want to cast their vote. Most freshmen are voting for the first time this year. For these and many other students, navigating the various options in their home region can be challenging.

Sara Roman, a first-year student, said she will vote by mail for her home district in Atlanta. Roman said she has voted in a local election before, but this is her first time voting in a national election and the first time she has used a mail-in ballot.

She expressed her enthusiasm for voting and said she has seen a variety of different resources at the university, such as people coming to her classes to explain the voting process.

“I am asked several times a day if I am registered to vote. So if I really needed help, I could 100 percent get it,” Roman said. “I’m happy to vote, I’m happy to be part of something [where] I get input.”

Different laws and requirements for postal voting apply to students depending on their home state. States like Texas and Louisiana require voters to provide a good reason to be eligible to receive a mail-in ballot. Qualifications in these states include being at least 65 years old and temporarily absent from your district, such as attending school elsewhere. Louisiana requires students to submit a copy of their student ID with their application to prove their eligibility.

Because of these voting requirements that some states are implementing, other students are having difficulty converting their voter registration into an actual vote. Freshman Halston Fedorowicz said she also planned to vote by mail, but her home state of Texas rejected her request for a mail ballot.

When she returns home for fall break, she will not be able to vote early in person, as early voting in Texas does not begin until October 21st.

Fedorowicz said she filled out an absentee ballot application over the summer and believed she had completed it properly. She said voting in person is relatively easy where she is from, compared to voting by mail, which she said is more difficult.

“I don’t know how to fix it,” Fedorowicz said. “I think mail-in voting is a little more difficult.”

On the other hand, all registered voters in Virginia are eligible to vote by mail regardless of the reason. Additionally, eight states and the District of Columbia automatically send mail-in ballots to all registered voters, who may or may not use them.

Although the last day to register before Election Day in Virginia is October 15, same-day registration on Election Day, November 5, is an option for those who do not meet this deadline. Early voting is underway in Virginia and ends November 2nd.

Anyone unsure whether they are registered to vote can check their status and explore other voting options at vote.gov. Virginia residents can also check their status and register to vote on the Virginia Department of Elections website.