VoteSC holds voter registration event

Trousdale Parkway was lined with tables representing various student organizations and an ice cream truck for VoteSC’s National Voter Registration Day event Tuesday. VoteSC, a nonpartisan voting initiative, helped over 150 students pledge or register to vote in the 2020 elections, surpassing the numbers from 2017, the last non-election year.

Student organizations and volunteers, including the Environmental Student Assembly, Latinx Student Assembly and even the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office, encouraged students to register.

During the three-hour event, volunteers asked those walking on Trousdale if they were registered to vote or if they were willing to pledge to vote in 2020. As an incentive, students were offered free ice cream. 

Sally Rakestraw, a sophomore majoring in public relations, said the event helped her figure out how to register for her first election.

“It’s just more convenient,” Rakestraw said. “It’s an easy way to get people to register, and there was also a great incentive with the ice cream truck.”

VoteSC was originally directed by the Political Student Assembly, the Center for the Political Future and the Unruh Institute of Politics. The initiative was launched as a means of making voting more accessible to students on campus and encouraging civic engagement. Since then, VoteSC has become an established student organization. 

One of the co-presidents, senior Eleonora Viotto, said that VoteSC’s first year faced a lack of recognition and response from school administration, making its efforts to develop partnerships with branches of the University difficult. However, President Carol Folt’s appearance at the event Tuesday made VoteSC hopeful about the new change in leadership. 

VoteSC founders Viotto, Alec Vandenberg and Brianna Miles presented a letter to Folt, outlining their goals for the club in an effort to have their purpose better integrated at the University.

“[Folt] seemed very open and receptive and was very excited about partnering with us,” Viotto said. “So we’re really looking forward to that partnership, and we’re hoping she’ll sign the memorandum.”

From their experience in registration drives leading up to last year’s midterm elections, the student organization plans to develop more partnerships on campus to increase connections and registration for 2020. 

“Reaching out to different organizations and making sure that we have those partnerships going is really helpful,” Viotto said. “People tend to gravitate toward people that they know on Trousdale, so rather it being five random strangers wearing VoteSC T-shirts yelling at people  ‘Register to vote!’ and it’s your friend or an organization you’re already a part of, you’re more likely to wander up just to say hi … and proceed through the process.”

Carissa Martinez, a sophomore majoring in public relations, said VoteSC’s event was not only helpful in not only reminding her to vote for next year’s elections, but also encouraging her to get others to register. 

“People don’t think that their vote matters,” Martinez said. “So if one person decides to vote, it will lead other people and their friends to vote.”

VoteSC’s goal is to make sure to be inclusive and offering that right to all those who can vote. Vandenberg, senior adviser of VoteSC, said the organization plans to provide the opportunity to everyone.

“Basically, register, engage and educate all students on this campus,” Vandenberg said. “Even taking our efforts off-campus and making sure that voter engagement is year-round and as inclusive as possible.”

The club has been successful in partly meeting this goal on campus. Grace Power, a junior majoring in theatre and economics, pledged to vote in 2020 and said events like these are important since voting is the main way to make a difference.

“Voting is not the most convenient thing, especially when you’re in college,” Power said. “We can talk about the issues all day, every day with each other, but that’s not going to actually make a difference. Maybe our voting systems aren’t perfect right now, but it’s the best shot we have.”

Student organizations and volunteers, including the Environmental Student Assembly, Latinx Student Assembly and even the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office, encouraged students to register.

During the three-hour event, volunteers asked those walking on Trousdale if they were registered to vote or if they were willing to pledge to vote in 2020. As an incentive, students were offered free ice cream. 

Sally Rakestraw, a sophomore majoring in public relations, said the event helped her figure out how to register for her first election.

“It’s just more convenient,” Rakestraw said. “It’s an easy way to get people to register, and there was also a great incentive with the ice cream truck.”

VoteSC was originally directed by the Political Student Assembly, the Center for the Political Future and the Unruh Institute of Politics. The initiative was launched as a means of making voting more accessible to students on campus and encouraging civic engagement. Since then, VoteSC has become an established student organization. 

One of the co-presidents, senior Eleonora Viotto, said that VoteSC’s first year faced a lack of recognition and response from school administration, making its efforts to develop partnerships with branches of the University difficult. However, President Carol Folt’s appearance at the event Tuesday made VoteSC hopeful about the new change in leadership. 

VoteSC founders Viotto, Alec Vandenberg and Brianna Miles presented a letter to Folt, outlining their goals for the club in an effort to have their purpose better integrated at the University.

“[Folt] seemed very open and receptive and was very excited about partnering with us,” Viotto said. “So we’re really looking forward to that partnership, and we’re hoping she’ll sign the memorandum.”

From their experience in registration drives leading up to last year’s midterm elections, the student organization plans to develop more partnerships on campus to increase connections and registration for 2020. 

“Reaching out to different organizations and making sure that we have those partnerships going is really helpful,” Viotto said. “People tend to gravitate toward people that they know on Trousdale, so rather it being five random strangers wearing VoteSC T-shirts yelling at people  ‘Register to vote!’ and it’s your friend or an organization you’re already a part of, you’re more likely to wander up just to say hi … and proceed through the process. way to get them to register.”

Carissa Martinez, a sophomore majoring in public relations, said VoteSC’s event was not only helpful in not only reminding her to vote for next year’s elections, but also encouraging her to get others to register. 

“People don’t think that their vote matters,” Martinez said. “So if one person decides to vote, it will lead other people and their friends to vote.”

VoteSC’s goal is to make sure to be inclusive and offering that right to all those who can vote. Vandenberg, senior adviser of VoteSC, said they plan to provide the opportunity to everyone.

“Basically, register, engage and educate all students on this campus,” Vandenberg said. “Even taking our efforts off-campus and making sure that voter engagement is year-round and as inclusive as possible.”

The club has been successful in partly meeting this goal on campus. Grace Power, a junior majoring in theatre and economics, pledged to vote in 2020 and said events like these are important since voting is the main way to make a difference.

“Voting is not the most convenient thing, especially when you’re in college,” Power said. “We can talk about the issues all day, every day with each other, but that’s not going to actually make a difference. Maybe our voting systems aren’t perfect right now, but it’s the best shot we have.”