As Election Day approaches, several campus organizations have been working to get young voters registered and out to the polls.

Election Day 2014 is Nov. 4 and with the help of the Rock the Vote Internet campaign, the New York Public Interest Research Group, SU College Republicans and SU College Democrats, students have been encouraged to register to vote and get out to the polls next month.

Rock the Vote, an initiative focused on bringing out young voters, released a comedy video on Oct. 7 called “#TurnOutForWhat” helmed by rapper Lil Jon with appearances from Fred Armisen, Lena Dunham and other celebrities.

The video, aimed at the 18–24 demographic, is an effort to boost voter participation in a critical election. In addition to being a midterm year, which typically yields low voter participation, this year is also predicted to have the lowest turnout of a midterm election in the last decade, according to a study released by polling network Gallup last week.

Brittania Smead, project coordinator for the Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of NYPIRG worked to get as many students on campus registered by the Friday deadline as possible. In fall 2013, NYPIRG registered 16,629 voters in the state of New York, she said.

Smead said she liked that the Rock The Vote video portrayed voting as “being fun and issue-related,” something that NYPIRG has tried to convey to students as well.

This is Smead’s first year overseeing NYPIRG’s voter registration efforts at SU. NYPIRG officials visit classrooms, post social media updates, run sign-up booths at campus events and host phone-bank sessions to get students registered to vote and aware of the upcoming election.

“We’ve spent the past couple weeks, up until deadline, really promoting voter registration on campus,” Smead said. “Actually registering students to vote in person is a great way to address any questions and prevent mistakes.”

Now that the Friday deadline has passed, NYPIRG’s efforts are shifting toward actually getting students to the polls. Smead said she was “hopeful” in terms of turnout.

“It’s been clear that students are really motivated by issues,” she said. “They want policies that reflect what they care about. Even looking at SU/ESF, there’s so much student power. The millennial voice, the student voice is very strong here.”

The College Democrats and College Republicans have also been engaged in “get out the vote” campaigns, encouraging students not only to vote, but also to support particular candidates.

Anthony Rini, president of the College Democrats, has led his group’s efforts in support of Congressman Dan Maffei’s, (D-New York)., re-election campaign. Maffei has been in touch with the chapter since his election in 2012 and his field organizer has pitched Maffei’s internship program at College Democrats meetings, Rini said.

“This year, we’re shifting more toward candidates willing to ask for help and meet with us in person,” Rini said.

But Rini said he doesn’t expect a small turnout come Nov. 4.

“At least in New York, I don’t think we’ll see depressed turnout for the midterm elections, as there are contentious state Senate races in places like the Albany area and Long Island,” he said.

The College Republicans have been similarly engaged in campaigning for Maffei’s opponent, Republican John Katko, who visited one of the club’s meetings earlier this semester.

Marissa Fenning, chairwoman of the College Republicans, said she believes the #TurnOutForWhat video is a more relevant way to reach out to young voters, especially when it’s needed in a midterm election.

“I do think it is difficult for SU students to get excited to vote in the midterm elections because they are less glamorous than the presidential election,” she said.

Fenning said for students to have a good showing at the polls, she feels they’ll need to be engaged by specific issues “that would spark the interest and passion of SU students.”

Published on October 15, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Thomas: tjbeckle@syr.edu