With Election Day on Nov. 6 quickly approaching, groups on campus have been spreading political awareness and encouraging Emory students to register to vote.
Recent events at the University have included viewing the debates, guest speakers and a “Rock the Vote” event this past Monday at the Dobbs University Center (DUC) Monday afternoon.
“The youth vote was really influential in 2008,” Young Democrats co-president and College senior Jonathan Katzner said. “Students felt they would make a difference, so we want to evoke that civic engagement again and get students in the habit of voting.”
The College Republicans, Young Democrats, The Barkley Forum, Emory Political Union, Atlanta Urban Debate League, The Emory Wheel and the Emory Student Government Association are co-sponsoring “Debate Watch 2012,” an ongoing forum for students to watch all three presidential debates as well as the vice presidential debate. Discussions will follow viewing of the debates.
The first “Debate Watch 2012” event took place Wednesday night where students gathered to watch the first presidential debate which focused on domestic issues.
“Political debates are less filtered than other aspects of political theater, but political partisans from both sides often try to tell the public how to interpret the debates both before and after the exchange,” Bill Newnam, associate executive director of the Barkley Forum, said in a Sept. 25 University press release.
Those who attend the “Debate Watch” events can also cast ballots afterwards about who they feel performed best.
Campus groups have also been working to register students to vote. In several states, early voting and absentee voting are already underway and will continue to open in other states in the coming weeks, according to a Sept. 30 Washington Post article.
Early voting allows voters to cast their ballots at designated polling sites or states’ registrars offices up to five weeks before the election. The purpose of early voting is to provide voters with more flexibility as to when they cast their ballots.
Absentee voting enables residents of a certain state, for people like college students who will not be in that state on Election Day, to cast their vote from a different location. Residents must apply for absentee ballots in advance and will receive their absentee ballots in the mail.
Early voting began in Iowa on Friday and in Ohio on Tuesday – both of these states are battleground states – and several more states are opening up voting booths in upcoming weeks. For Georgians, early voting begins on Oct. 15.
In fact, early voting has become increasingly popular in several states in the past several elections. In 2008, about 30 percent of the popular vote came from early voting, according to the Washington Post.
Absentee voting has also already begun in several states, including North Carolina where political analysts predict a very close election will take place this year.
While the procedures and deadlines vary by state, application forms for absentee ballots can be found on websites such as turbovote.com and longdistancevoter.com.
Many Emory students who are not from the state of Georgia will be casting absentee ballots for their home states. For several students, this presidential election will be the first in which they are over the age of 18 and therefore able to vote.
“Voting in general is like a coming-of-age process and shows you’re mature enough and know enough about the candidates to make a decision,” College sophomore Erica Sterling who is casting an absentee ballot for California said. “I’m excited to vote in such a close election because I feel like my vote will really count.”
Political groups around campus have arranged several events to spread awareness about the candidates’ platforms and to register students to vote.
College senior and Wheel Associate Editor James Sunshine and political science graduate student Gabriel Nahmias in collaboration with College junior Alex Nathanson, Young Democrats Vice President of Communications and Community Outreach, have created an initiative called “Emory Votes,” in which student representatives from the organization register students to vote and provide the resources for students to apply for absentee ballots.
Representatives sit at a table near Cannon Chapel for about three hours, five days a week.
“First and foremost our goal is to get people to vote, but we also have a side goal of promoting Barack Obama’s campaign and encouraging students to vote for Barack Obama,” Katzner said.
Nathanson agreed, noting that about 120 Emory students have registered to vote or have applied for absentee ballots since the creation of Emory Votes. He said this number surprised the organization because of slower turnout at voter registration drives on campus in February and March.
“I hope that the election serves as a referendum as to where voters want the country to go,” Nathanson said. “Americans are fed up with the lack of cooperation, so I hope the election will create desire among people for greater collaboration.”
In addition to setting up voter registration booths across campus, Rock The Vote took place on Monday. The event was an opportunity for students to register to vote as well as ask questions about the election and learn about the candidates’ platforms.
The Black Student Alliance, the Dobbs University Center, Young Democrats and College Republicans, among other political and cultural organizations, co-sponsored the event.
By Anusha Ravi
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
