PSU Votes Week Makes Voter Registration Available for Students
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Last week, a group consisting of the University Park Undergraduate Association, the Center for Character, Conscience & Public Purpose and the League of Women Voters of Centre County hosted the annual PSU Votes Week.
This platform is used to promote student voter registration for the upcoming elections, with the closest upcoming poll date being Oct. 7 for the municipal elections in State College.
Throughout the week, student volunteers helped recruit their peers to register by tabling and canvassing, which consisted of standing at a table inside the HUB-Robeson Center and alerting students that they can fill out registration forms at the table, while also helping students with any questions they may have.
Alejandra Trejo is a senior who volunteered to help by tabling at the HUB on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s been pretty successful,” Trejo said. “Just by reaching out either from tabling or canvassing, we have gotten a lot more voters.”
Jessica Bard, a junior, was another volunteer at the HUB Thursday afternoon.
“The process can be intimidating if you’ve never registered before, and I think just showing how easy it is to fill out a form makes more people more likely to register,” Bard said.
Volunteers said it was imperative that students of all political beliefs be afforded the same registration opportunities.
“We want to make sure that anybody can vote,” Trejo said. “It doesn’t matter what party you are, or if you’re even in a party. We want to make sure that you are still able to vote, and it’s comfortable for you to come up and fill it out.”
Both Trejo and Bard agreed it was important for Penn State to offer such a service for students who struggle to always find the time for registration.
“Even if you’re super busy with a job or extracurriculars, it’s still super important, so having it in a really common area where you really don’t even have to take time out of your day to do it, I think is really important for everybody,” Bard said.
PSU Votes Week concluded on Friday, and, according to Trejo, its efforts led to an increase in student voter registration compared to promotions in years past.
Andre Magaro is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ajm7362@psu.edu.
