The presidential election is coming up in November and multiple organizations came to the Memorial Union to inform students for Voter Registration Day. 

“Voter registration is very important. We hear a lot that this election is very important, but all elections are very important,” said Olivia Brice, assistant director of student belonging. “We just want to make sure that all of our students are registered to vote and they know how to vote.”

The groups present were Loud Light, League of Women Voters, Washburn Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity and the Shawnee County Election Office.

“The reason why Memorial Union really wanted to be involved and do this [is because] we do it every year,” said Becky Bolte, director of the Memorial Union. “We are the location on campus for anybody to come and register to vote anytime up in our administrative office from 8-5 [p.m.], they can come and fill out a voter registration or do it online in our office.”

Loud Light is a non-profit organization that partnered with multiple organizations to provide free pizza, coffee and pop to students who came by to check their voter registration. 

“National voter registration day is a pretty big day for us. We’ve been talking about it for a long time,” said Daisy Larson, freshman political science major and Loud Light fellow. “The deadline for registration is coming up so this is the perfect opportunity to get all of campus involved and check on our registration, make sure that everyone gets the opportunity and accessibility to be involved with their voting rights.”

College students are highly encouraged as some may be first-time voters, or they may not be aware of how to vote outside of their home state. 

“College students are the ones who will be leading us in the future,” Brice said. “So, getting them involved now, when it is still kind of early, is important to get them thinking about it for when they are in the position to make these important decisions.”

Voters who are younger have also had quite the impact in recent elections. 

“The young voters had a dramatic impact on how the election ended up going,” Larson said. “We are the future so we don’t need to let the previous generations live in the past when we are the increasing power.”

Students might not know how to vote, but it’s easier than it may seem. 

“It’s something that’s kind of out of the way for you, but it’s definitely a lot more accessible than you think,” Larson said. 

The Shawnee County Election Office is preparing for the election by talking to Washburn students about voter registration as well as recruiting election workers. 

“We do believe that everyone has the right to vote and it’s very important for them to register to vote, whether it be back home or they can register to vote here in Shawnee County,” said Charlee French, assistant election manager of the Shawnee County Election Office. 

If students would like to vote for candidates in a different county, they must register to vote with their county’s election office or request a mail-in ballot application. 

The political science department is hosting a talk by Bob Beatty, professor and chair of political science, Thursday Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m. in the Kansas room of the Memorial Union to learn more about politics and importance of elections.

On Sept. 24, Robert Talisse from Vanderbilt University will be at Washburn to give a lecture titled “The Civic Value of Solitude” with a book signing afterward. The event will be in the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center, Ruth Garvey Fink Convocation Hall at 7 p.m. 

“If you live in one of the residence halls and this is your address that you’ve registered for, your polling location is the Alumni Center and the election is coming up, Nov. 5,” Bolte said. 

The last day that students can register to vote is Oct. 15. 

Edited by Jeremy Ford.