Today marked National Voter Registration Day. At USC, this meant voter registration events hosted by campus organizations, who offered free food and encouraged young voters to register ahead of the presidential election in November.
The USC Center for the Political Future hosted one nonpartisan event. Executive director Kamy Akhavan said the goal was to make the voter registration process easy and accessible.
“The purpose of an event like today is to have young people realize we have tremendous power,” Akhavan said. “We can make a big difference in elections, and ... they did in 2018, they did in 2022, and we hope they can do it again in 2024, so the world can be more reflective of what’s important to young people.”
Nick Quach, a freshman, said he has been pre-registered to vote since he was 16. He described this election as very important.
“There’s so much on the line this November, from reproductive access to protecting democracy,” he said. “We’ve seen that some elections can come down to the wire.”
Over at the School of Cinematic Arts, faculty member Brenda Goodman handed out coffee, donuts, and pizza to registered voters.
“This is our community, so we wanted to encourage student” Goodman said. “It’s so important that that this generation have the future that they want to have. And the best way, or one of the best ways, to do that is to vote. So that’s why we’re here.”
Senior Evi Alonzo stopped by to grab some pizza as a reward for registering to vote in her first presidential election.
“I’m 21, so it’s kind of like a big deal to me, because I never got to do it for that other one,” she said. “So I’m just excited, for sure.”
Alonzo has been following both presidential candidates’ policies closely.
“In the candidates, I really want them to focus on the education, specifically on how the loans, if they’re actually going to be helping students with college debt,” Alonzo said.
Cinematic arts Professor Midge Costin said seeing the excitement on students’ faces made the event feel like a success.
“People say ... ‘I’m a junior, and it’s the first time I’m gonna vote,’ and they’re just excited about it, and I’m excited for them,” Costin said. “I mean, that’s like, amazing to see that, you know, because it’s a long time since I first voted, and to see people who are excited, it’s like, makes my day, if not my year, to see that. It’s really terrific.”
Ella Wallace contributed to this story.