Engage@EMU Prepares EMU for Upcoming Elections Through Campus Voter Engagement

11/22

Election Day is here and Engage@EMU has been gearing up students at EMU for the current election. With Michigan's Governor up for reelection, the House of Representatives seats, new proposals, and various other items found on the ballot, Engage@EMU wants to ensure all students and community members are prepared to take on the polls.

Throughout the months of September to November, Engage@EMU has hosted several events and partnered with key groups across campus and outside organizations to not only educate students about the current election but also to energize the student body for November 8th. Events like Ballots and Bagels educated students on how to fill out a ballot properly and understand the contents within it. Engage’s Town Hall event with EMU’s Student Government allowed students and other community members to connect with representatives running for local government and understand their campaigns. The Student Center even had a ballot box installed outside their West Circle Entrance for students and other community members to drop off their absentee ballots.

Kaitlyn Savage, Graduate Assistant at Engage@EMU and head of voter engagement for Engage@EMU, shared with us what her experience has been with the voter initiative on campus. From online engagement to events in-person, Kaitlyn had an overall positive reaction from the student body and found that students were interested in the voter process and election details. “Many students were there to learn and wanted to learn about how to register for the election, read a ballot, or what to expect on November 8th,” Kaitlyn shared.

While the reaction from campus was positive, Kaitlyn had put a lot of work into getting these events together. Stepping into this voter initiative role for the first time, Kaitlyn not only had to learn certain voter information for the state of Michigan–since she grew up out-of-state–but she also had to grasp new information about state elections. With the new information she gathered, Kaitlyn grew to realize just how important college voters matter. Getting students registered to vote now and participate in the elections is extremely important to Kaitlyn because “it keeps students in the habit of exercising such an important right that people often take for granted.”

Kaitlyn stresses the importance for college students to hit the polls because of how each vote can change the state and country. “It’s our future. We are voting on things that will directly impact our future, initiatives that could be created in the next few years, and politicians that will be in office for the next 2-4 years that have the capacity to make changes in the state or country and I don’t think that people in our age group think about that sometimes.”

For students or community members still not registered to vote for the election, there is still time. Individuals may still register up until 8 p.m. on Election Day through their city or township’s clerk office. Students should also be checking their emails for more information from EMU about the election and what to expect. In addition, to check voter information, register to vote, find your polling place, and more, visit the Michigan’s Voter Information Center’s website here.

Engage@EMU is the University’s outward-facing office charged with cultivating relationships and initiating and/or coordinating community and business partnerships and programs. For more information on our office, please visit, www.emich.edu/engage.