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On-campus groups help students register to vote before Oct. 9 deadline

October 5, 2018
Regional Organizing Director of Next Gen America Cayley Winters helps people register to vote at Wells Hall on Sept. 25, 2018.
Regional Organizing Director of Next Gen America Cayley Winters helps people register to vote at Wells Hall on Sept. 25, 2018. —
Photo by Annie Barker | The State News

On Nov. 6, Michigan residents will be headed to the polls for the general elections. This will be the first major election that many students at MSU will be able to vote in. 

The deadline to register to vote in the midterm elections is on Oct. 9, and many of the student organizations on campus have been holding events to help students get registered. 

The Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, has been among the active organizations on campus in efforts to get students registered. 

Other clubs, such as the James Madison College Student Senate, have also been involved in spreading the news about resources for students.

Although the group has not held its own events, they have been promoting events that other organizations, like ASMSU, are holding to make sure as many students as possible are registered. 

“James Madison college is all about being aware, being knowledgeable, understanding the consequences of inaction and I think that as a student senate we have always encouraged civic participation,” Rachel Alexander, president of the James Madison College Student Senate, said.

Another organization on campus that is helping get students registered is the James Madison College Conservatives. 

Most of their members have already been registered to vote, but a handful of members were registered in places like New York and New Jersey. 

Adam Green, president of the College Conservatives, mentioned that every vote counts and the group has been working with the state party and the local party to hand out paper flyers with information as to how to get registered.

“Just getting people informed is probably the most essential thing for our democracy to thrive,” Green said. 

Eli Pales, president of the MSU College Democrats, said they have been holding a lot of events to get students registered. 

“When it comes to actual election day, we do a lot of phone calls and a lot of door knocking to make sure students are aware and turn out to vote,” Pales said. "But, ultimately, for me, it’s about registration. If you have a reason to vote, and aren’t registered in the first place that’s the worst discriminatory impact of all.” 

Green said he thinks Republicans will lose a couple of seats in the state races, but will ultimately remain in control of the majority. 

Alexander noted how the polls for the governor’s race are leaning in favor of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer, and she thinks this is because Whitmer has students' best interests in mind. 

Green also commented on how Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette is down in the polls, but that polls aren’t always correct. Green used the 2016 presidential election as an example, citing how Hillary Clinton was up on Donald Trump in the polls, but Trump walked away with the presidency. 

“It’s really going to come down to voter turnout, it always does in Michigan. If there’s good turnout I think there could be some very close races,” Green said.

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