On a busy Tuesday afternoon that marked 49 days until the 2024 presidential election, students milled around a table set up in the lobby of Snell Library, complete with a multicolored prize wheel, handfuls of candy and round stickers that read “NORTHEASTERN VOTES.”
Northeastern Votes, a coalition of Northeastern faculty, staff and students, was celebrating National Voter Registration Day Sept. 17, a civic holiday observed every September to encourage voter registration across the United States. Through social media outreach, coordinated events and email blasts, the holiday has influenced more than 5 million Americans to register to vote since its launch in 2012, according to the National Voter Registration Day website.
Founded in 2019, Northeastern Votes works under Northeastern’s Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement with a mission to encourage more students to register to vote. Aside from Snell’s lobby, the coalition had other tables scattered across campus throughout the day, including at Marino Recreation Center, Centennial Common and the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute.
“We want to underscore the importance of participating in our democracy,” said Hudson Small, a second-year international affairs major and Northeastern Votes ambassador. “There’s so many different important measures in your local community and at the national level that we want to make people aware of.”
Small, along with Natasha Nagy, also a Northeastern Votes ambassador, tabled for the coalition in Snell. As ambassadors, their jobs include tabling and hosting outreach events, as well as presenting voting materials for classes and clubs if requested by professors or club leaders. Ambassadors also provide resources for voter registration and absentee ballots, including information on the candidates in an election.
“[Northeastern Votes] is nonpartisan,” said Nagy, a fourth-year political science and international affairs combined major. “We just want more people to engage.”
Northeastern’s Community Service and Civic Engagement website shows how voting rates of Northeastern students have grown with the founding of Northeastern Votes, increasing from 46.8% in 2018 to 68.7% in 2020.
“We get to see the direct impact because people register right in front of us,” Nagy said, motioning to the QR code displayed on the table.
The code directs students to TurboVote, a software program that guides users through how to register to vote. Through TurboVote, students can check their registration status and change their address if needed.
“It’s important to vote because it’s the only way to guarantee that your voice is truly heard in our government system,” Nagy said. “It’s the only way to have a direct impact.”
Anna Palfy, a second-year journalism major from California, registered to vote at a Northeastern Votes table in Davenport Commons B.
“The [QR code] was very helpful,” said Palfy, whose family recently moved to another area of California. Using the code, Palfy was able to change her home address. The Northeastern Votes ambassadors at the table also directed Palfy on how to call the county office near her house to request an absentee ballot.
“The outcomes for both California and Massachusetts are pretty predicted by now,” Palfy said. “But it’s good practice because someday I might live somewhere where [my vote] will really matter.”
“No matter where you’re from, you still want to feel like you have a say in the country’s future,” she said.
Jillian Johnson, a third-year English and political science combined major, said she recognized the importance of voting at an early age. When she was 16 years old, she pre-registered to vote at her local Department of Motor Vehicles.
“We move backwards in society when people aren’t informed or exercise their rights to vote,” Johnson said.
Small noted voting at the state and local levels is just as important as national elections.
“Voting doesn’t just give you the president, but also decides the individual things that will actually impact your life,” he said.
“We’re given this power,” Johnson said. “It would be foolish not to use it to make this country a better place.”
Editor’s Note: Anna Palfy is a correspondent for The News.
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