With Election Day approaching, Florida A&M is working to give its students a head start by registering to vote on “The Set” on Fridays.
The Leon County Supervisor of Elections office volunteers and the Leon County Democratic Black Caucus are encouraging students to either register or complete change of address forms to vote in Leon county come August 14 in the primary elections.
“We are against the voters’ suppression that is going on in the state of Florida,” said volunteer and Florida A&M student T.J. Legacy-Cole. “Our biggest goal is to get as many students to register to vote as possible and get the same momentum going as we had last year.
Students need their I.D., driver’s license number, or the last four digits of their social security number to register to vote. There will also be a dorm storm voters’ registration drive to provide students with another chance to register to vote.
Volunteers are reaching out to the National Pan-Hellenic Council and students in clubs and organizations to help them to get other students on campus to help in this effort.
President of the Leon County Democratic Black Caucus Bishop Holifield feels that students are headed in the right direction, but need motivation and cannot forget why exercising their right to vote is so important.
“Remember, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance,” said Holifield. “The voter turnout in 2008 was outstanding and we need that same turnout again.”
Many students have lost confidence in the government itself and feel that their vote doesn’t matter, causing some students not to register.
One of the first in line was Ana Sanz, a first-year fine arts student. “We need to exercise our right to vote to inflict political change because if we don’t we never get any progress,” Sanz said.
The voters registration booth will be present every Set Friday up until the registration deadline, July 16. Any questions about voter education or getting registered to vote can be directed at the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office or www.leonvotes.org.