On Friday, October 5th the CCCE and the League of Women Voters collaborated to host a voter registration marathon on Carleton’s campus with the goal of helping college students fill out registration forms. Although Minnesota had the highest voter turnout in the country in 2016 at 74.7 percent, the national turnout among 18 to 29 year olds was shocking low at less than 50 percent according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure threatens to drop even lower in midterm election years like this one. For college students, voting can be complicated and inconvenient, especially if they are voting absentee in their home state. The process of registering and voting may not take that long, but researching candidates in order to make an informed decision can be very time consuming. That is why it is so important for voter registration efforts to target young people, provide information, and encourage them to vote, which is exactly what the League of Women Voters is all about.
The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in democratic government. They work to increase public understanding of and influence major policy issues through education and advocacy. Sophie Rogers is a current sophomore at Carleton and has been interning with the LWV since her freshman year, a position she found through the CCCE. Rogers stresses the importance of depolarizing the political climate, saying “It doesn’t matter who votes, just that people vote. If some voices aren’t being heard, then representation will never be fair or true. Voting is one thing you can actually do to have a direct impact. I still have hope that voting will make a difference even in a seemingly small way.” She finds it inspiring to be surrounded by women interested in promoting non-partisan democracy and was excited by the opportunity to organize the voter registration marathon, bringing the CCCE and the LWV together.
Voter registration has the potential to be a great platform for bringing different groups together over a shared cause. The vision of this particular event was to involve every group in the community that is working on voter registration and foster collaboration. In actuality, the only other organization that played a big role besides the LWV and the CCCE were the Carleton Democrats, who made the event possible by recruiting volunteers. Rogers remarks that she would have liked to see more involvement from campus groups like the Carleton Republicans and professors in the political science department. Although the goal of this event was achieved on a smaller scale than she had anticipated, Rogers recognizes and appreciates the way that those who were involved rallied around the event and rose to the occasion.
Among the participants were representatives from the Northfield school district who came to inform students about current legislation and urge them to play an active role in the Northfield community. On election day, students voting in Northfield will be asked to vote on the Northfield Public Schools Bond Referendum. This funding request focuses on enhanced and expanded early childhood education, a new elementary school on the Greenvale Park campus, and increased security measures and expanded space at all elementary schools. “This could really make a difference in people’s lives”, says Rogers. “Getting a new school would show the minority population at Greenvale that they are valued and that their education matters.” This upcoming midterm election serves as an important reminder that the Carleton and Northfield communities are not separate entities; they are one. Carleton students make up almost 10 percent of the population of Northfield, which gives us not only the opportunity but also the responsibility to exert our democratic power for the benefit of the community as a whole.
The voter registration marathon was a great first step in terms of increasing awareness of crucial legislation in Northfield and encouraging students to be politically engaged, all of which could not have been accomplished without the help of the League of Women Voters. Thanks to everyone who registered, we look forward to seeing you at the polls! If you have yet to register — don’t wait! Now is the time!