After the national voter turnout for college-aged citizens hit an all-time low in 2014, with only 19.9 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds casting ballots, some young voters are seeking to draw greater turnouts in upcoming elections.
ASU’s Arizona Young Advocates club hopes to combat low voter turnout by educating students about the registration process and connecting students with governmental officials.
“You see a lot of different groups on campus … but we kind of see ourselves as somewhat of the watchdog of electoral rights for citizens,” said Tanner Swanson, business and political science junior and the club’s director.
Swanson said the organization wants to see as many people involved in their government as possible.
“I think one of the biggest things is just engagement,” Swanson said.
Genetics freshmen and club president Kelly Rice said students can have a difficult time navigating the registration processes.
“Our state makes it notoriously difficult for college students to vote,” Rice said.
Out-of-state students can have an especially difficult time with the registration process when their permanent address is not in Arizona.
“It takes three hours to find the information,” Rice said.
Rice said the group is also looking to get trained in registering students to vote, so they can table at the Memorial Union and get more students registered.
Another way the organization helps students stay engaged is by registering them on the Arizona Legislature’s request to speak, where students can comment on bills and proceeding and the legislature is required by law to read the students’ comments.
“Having the ear of a politician is one of the hardest thing you can do and can get,” Swanson said.
Swanson said money is one of the few ways to get a politician’s attention, and that one of the group’s focuses is getting money out of elections.
“We have a very specific focus and that is protecting the integrity of government,” Swanson said.
Students within the group had different political identities, but said they had similar feelings about money being involved in politics.
As more voters are not identifying with a political party but instead as independents, the Young Advocates created a space for students to come together to address issues with the political system in a non-partisan manner.
Political science junior Alex Corella, a member of the organization, said he joined the group after receiving an incorrect voter identification card after re-registering as a Democrat so that he could vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.
“This is the first election where it’s been televised nationally that politicians are corrupt and take money,” Corella said.
Because the group places such importance on keeping money out of politics, the group’s discussions often focus on Arizona’s clean election act.
Political science sophomore Kayerra Harfield said after working on Sen. John McCain’s campaign she realized that Arizona’s election laws kept all candidates accountable.
“I was working on a campaign in Arizona, and I noticed that because we’re the only state that has that legislation we were constantly pressed to get signatures,” Harfield said.
With the growth of students like Harfield and Corella, the organization is looking to expand the ways they can reach students such as having freshmen register to vote when they move into their dorms.
“I really want to advocate for equality within politics,” Harfield said.
Related Links:
How ASU's non-partisan clubs are increasing civic engagement
Seeking Justice in Arizona series promotes local activism through prominent speakers
Reach the reporter at lmarsha6@asu.edu or follow @lmarsh2014 on Twitter.
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