Getting the vote out

Tabling at Kennedy Union, hosting conversations in Boll Theatre, handing out fliers and asking students to scan QR codes. Behind these initiatives is UDayton Votes, students passionate about registering their classmates to vote and educating their peers about the importance of civic engagement.

President Sarah McLeeson and Vice President Jakob Burdick say their group aims to help students register locally or provide them with information on how to register in their home districts. 

The two senior political science majors say they are looking forward to partnering with two campus organizations, College Democrats and College Republicans, for their popular annual debate, which typically attracts diverse perspectives on key issues.

McLeeson said tabling at Kennedy Union is one of the group’s strengths and how they engage the most with the student body. Tackling preconceived notions about voting is the group’s biggest challenge. 

“A lot of students don’t think that voting matters or that their vote won’t make a difference.”

“They believe that since they have a lack of knowledge, it’s not worth voting, or they just follow their parents,” McLeeson said.

To combat this, UDayton Votes plans to hold events to educate their peers on candidate research and district representation, and to offer a political compass test to help students understand the issues most important to them. The group also plans to hold a panel discussion with the College Republicans and College Democrats about their respective presidential candidates.

“Young people are often told that their voices don’t matter and that we’re so apathetic that we don’t even care, but I don’t necessarily believe in that,” Burdick said. “I think we can help other young people find their voice, find some value in the right to vote and [get students to] view voting as a power and not just a task to do.”