{"677336":{"#nid":"677336","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Students Lead Voter Registration Effort","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Georgia\u2019s voter registration deadline approaches, student organizations at Georgia Tech mobilized at the John Lewis Student Center and Tech Walkway to encourage civic engagement in the coming election. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHosted on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, nonpartisan student groups collaborated to host voter registration drives, all united in their mission to make student voices heard in policy decisions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen asked about Voters of Tomorrow at GT (VOT at GT)\u0027s motivations for participating in the drive, Alexa Bowman Olay, a third-year public policy student and president of the group, discussed the importance of making voter registration readily available to students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith the presidential election happening while we\u2019re here, we knew it was important to have voter registration accessible to students on campus. We worked with CultiVote, SGA, and a couple of other organizations to get Fulton County out here to make it easier for out-of-state and in-state students to learn how to register to vote and to actively do so,\u201d Bowman Olay said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe clubs were equipped with voter registration applications for those with a valid Georgia driver\u2019s license or the last four digits of their social security number, enabling students to fill out the form promptly and on-site. Students with additional questions could refer to club members or the resource guide curated by VOT at GT. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELillian Hanson, a third-year public policy and industrial and systems engineering student and the vice president of VOT at GT, discussed how the organization planned to engage students who may be hesitant to register. \u201cAs a nonpartisan club, we tried to promote voting in general, rather than from a partisan view \u2014 like you have to vote for one candidate in particular,\u201d she explained.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBowman Olay and Hanson hoped that the drives would also promote young voters\u2019 empowerment. \u201cYoung voters are so foundational to democracy. We are the future, and we are at Georgia Tech because we know we are the future and want to be successful and continue moving forward in society,\u201d Bowman Olay said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHanson added, \u201cI would like to see young voters make their voices heard. Eighteen- to 25-year-olds are still the lowest voter turnout group, which we are seeking to improve. I think that a higher voter turnout for young voters will increase our visibility in politics in general and encourage politicians to address the issues that matter most to us.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to VOT at GT\u2019s Instagram, they, along with CultiVote and SGA, helped 78 new voters register on Oct. 7.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia\u2019s voter registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 7. To check your voter registration status or register, refer to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mvp.sos.ga.gov\/s\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Emvp.sos.ga.gov\/s\/\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Student organizations partnered to help voter registration efforts ahead of Monday\u0027s deadline. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudent organizations partnered to help voter registration efforts ahead of Monday\u0027s deadline.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Student organizations partnered to help voter registration efforts ahead of Monday\u0027s deadline. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2024-10-05 03:01:56","changed_gmt":"2024-10-07 13:51:15","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675232":{"id":"675232","type":"image","title":"Voter Registration Drive ","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAlexa Bowman Olay and Lillian Hanson register voters on Tech Walkway as part of a student voter registration effort. Photo by Emily Russell\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1728308988","gmt_created":"2024-10-07 13:49:48","changed":"1728308988","gmt_changed":"2024-10-07 13:49:48","alt":"Alexa Bowman Olay and Lillian Hanson register voters on Tech Walkway as part of a student voter registration effort. Photo by Emily Russell","file":{"fid":"258834","name":"vot 3 copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/07\/vot%203%20copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/07\/vot%203%20copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3881628,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/10\/07\/vot%203%20copy.jpg?itok=AXDeLW-L"}}},"media_ids":["675232"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/gov.gatech.edu\/vote","title":"Institute Relations - Voting Resources"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"193818","name":"2024 Presidential election"},{"id":"185835","name":"voter registration"},{"id":"186117","name":"student voter"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stucomm@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EEmily Russell\u003C\/a\u003E - Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}