Center for the Political Future gets out the (mobile) vote


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Dornsife has hosted voter participation events alongside USC Votes to encourage student voter turnout throughout the semester. (Amanda Chou | Daily Trojan)

USC Votes and the Dornsife Center for the Political Future are making sure that USC students have all the resources they need to make their voices heard.

Homelessness, housing costs and inflation are the most contested issues on this year’s ballot according to a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll. California voters will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on races for the 52 house seats, senate and gubernatorial seats, as well as the L.A. mayoral race between USC alumni Rep. Karen Bass and former USC Board of Trustees chair Rick Caruso. 

“I feel like this midterm elections and the mayoral race is particularly enticing this year,” said Michelle Li, a junior majoring in political science. “I feel like maybe our professors should encourage us to go [vote] more in our classes, or even take the day off.”

Kamy Akhavan, the executive director of the Center for the Political Future, has taken the lead this election season by providing information and voting opportunities to USC students.

“If 18 to 29-year-olds voted in proportion to their numbers, they would change the outcome of pretty much every election. So we want young people to vote, no matter who they vote for, they just need to be part of the process,” Akhavan said. “Voting is the oxygen for our democratic systems, and without oxygen, the system dies.”

USC Votes ran multiple events to encourage voter turnout throughout the fall. The initiative held registration drives on Trousdale Parkway and in Alumni Park, and hosted two secure ballot drop boxes placed in USC Village and on the Health Sciences Campus.

But the largest events of this season’s voting push were the two mobile voting centers at USC Village and Health Sciences Campus. Provided in collaboration with the L.A. County Registrar’s office, these centers allowed students to register to vote and fill out their ballots all in one place, with trained staff on site to answer questions and translate ballot information. These measures were all aimed at increasing political participation and helping students become engaged voters. 

“In 2020, about 72% of all students on campus voted, and then of all the people who are registered to vote, 87% of them voted. That number was high enough to get us ranked in the top four of the top 30 universities,” Akhavan said. “Fourth is great, but we want to be first.”

Hannah Young, a senior majoring in business and a California voter, appreciated USC’s efforts to make voting accessible to students.

“I plan on dropping off my ballot tomorrow at the USC Village,” Young said. “It’s so helpful because I’m an American citizen, and it’s super important to me that we vote and we recognize that right, because not everyone in the world has it.”

Gabe Romero, a graduate student studying environmental studies, said he hopes the program would increase voting access for college students. 

“Students have a lot to worry about between school and internships or jobs,” Romero said. “I think the mobile voting locations are really imperative to make voting as easy as possible for us.”

The Center for the Political Future is co-hosting an election night watch party Nov. 8 at the Annenberg Media Center and a post-election conference Nov. 17. Both will feature guest speakers and panelists who will break down what the results mean for L.A. and the rest of the country.