Two weeks remain to register to vote

Posted 9/23/20

The deadline to register to vote in Missouri is Oct. 7, and some advocacy groups are racing to get the word out with six weeks left before the November election.

Felice Nudelman is executive …

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Two weeks remain to register to vote

Posted

The deadline to register to vote in Missouri is Oct. 7, and some advocacy groups are racing to get the word out with six weeks left before the November election.

Felice Nudelman is executive director of the American Democracy Project, which works on youth voter engagement on college campuses across the country. She noted that young voters are still less likely to vote than any other age group.

“We’ve been doing voter education for quite a long time so that students understand it’s not just the action of registering, it is the action of being part of a democracy, of democratic practice,” Nudelman said. “And voting is one example of democratic practice.”

While about half of Americans aged 18-24 registered to vote in the 2016 election, only 39 percent cast a ballot. Today is National Voter Registration Day, and Missourians can register to vote or check their registration status online at sos.mo.gov.

At Missouri State University, Coordinator of Public Affairs Special Projects Stacey Trewatha-Bach explained that with the pandemic curtailing their traditional on-campus voter outreach, social media is proving to be a valuable engagement tool. She said during these divisive times, youths should know that their vote is their voice.

“I think students are sometimes scared to talk to each other about politics because they’re afraid they’re going to say something wrong or be in an opposing view with their friend,” Trewatha-Bach said. “We’re going to have to be able to do a better job of educating about the importance of voting. And that their voice does make a difference.”

Approximately 15 million Americans have turned 18 and become eligible to vote since the 2016 election.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.