By LIZ MACLEAN
Voter registration on campus was extended by a week and will continue through Tuesday, Oct. 18, due to the damage of Hurricane Matthew. Community Voters Project is placing volunteers around campus who can help students register to vote in the state of Florida. The goal of Community Voters Project is to help underrepresented demographics, such as African Americans, Latinos, and young people, to be represented in the national election. They have registered 190,000 voters so far in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Colorado and Arizona.
Casey Bauer, a sophomore government and world affairs major, is earning credit for his Campaign and Elections class by registering students to vote.
“I’m one of the more aggressive registers, so I get at least 30 people a day,” Bauer said.
The University of Tampa is part of Precinct 165, which has one of the lowest voter turnouts in Florida – only 63.24% of people make it to the polls for the 2012 election, whereas many other precincts have over 70% voter turnout. Only 1,400 people in Precinct 165 are registered to vote, but there are over 3,500 eligible voters on campus. This is why Bauer is working on a car ride program that will help students make it to the polls on election day.
Because the 2016 has been filled with drama and controversy, some students are left confused about who to vote for.
“If you don’t know them, don’t fill in their name,” Bauer said, referring to many of the other positions besides president that are listed on every ballot.
Bauer is campaigning for Hillary Clinton, but for class credit, he is required to be non-partisan and register anyone in any political party that wishes to do so. Students aren’t being paid to register other students to vote, but those working for Community Voters Project are. Bauer personally has registered over 100 students so far.
Early voting starts on Oct. 24 and goes until Nov. 6 and is located 10 minutes walking distance from UT at 601 East Kennedy Boulevard.
For more information on how to register to vote or get to the polls on election day, contact Casey Bauer at casey.bauer@spartans.ut.edu.
Liz MacLean can be reached at liz.maclean@theminaretonline.com.