The mobile Secretary of State van registers voters near the rock on Farm Lane on Oct. 7, 2016.
—MSU was visited by Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s mobile unit on Friday, which registered students from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of the Rock on Farm Lane.
MSU vice president for Student Affairs and Services Denise Maybank alerted students of the visit via email the previous day and provided detailed instructions on how to register and vote properly.
“In a democracy, voting is the most powerful tool you have to ensure your voice is heard,” Maybank said in the email.
The visit is one of eight campus stops scheduled for the mobile office this October. The office will head to Eastern Michigan University on Oct. 10, before heading to University of Michigan on Oct. 11.
Robert Gatt, the driver of the mobile office, described it as a full-service secretary of state office on wheels.
“This is a mobile Secretary of State Office, it has all the same things that you can get at a regular secretary of state office, except for it’s on wheels, that’s the only difference,” Gatt said. “We’ve had this for almost 20 years.”
Gatt, a branch office manager, said the mobile office has two secretary of state clerks and can perform any action normally required of a secretary of state office. Gatt said the voter registration process takes approximately 20 seconds.
“It’s a matter of showing us your ID, having us print out the form, taking a couple signatures and verifying the address, and then they’re registered to vote,” Gatt said. “Very easy process.”
Gatt stressed the importance of student voter registration.
“Secretary Johnson is a very large advocate of having every single person that’s eligible to be a registered voter get themselves registered to vote, and have their voices heard for the November election,” Gatt said.
ASMSU took the opportunity to advance its own voter registration efforts by setting up at the rock.
“I think it’s very important, it’s important to get your voice heard and actually express your opinion, because it’s the only way we are heard in our government, unless you are a politician … this is your chance to give your opinion,” ASMSU grass roots intern and business freshman Katie Bower said.
The Secretary of State Office van and ASMSU stall are closer to students' day-to-day trek than the nearest Secretary of State office
Bauer said getting students to register is often a matter of convenience.
"When you actually just put it out there and make it available and accessible, it’s easier and people are more inclined to actually register,” she said.
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