The midterm elections on Nov. 8 are fast approaching. The weeks leading up to the election are especially critical for more engagement with the younger crowd to vote and use their voice for impact.
A new Tech student organization called GT Voters of Tomorrow set out with this exact initiative in mind.
The main goals of the organization have been to help Tech students to register to vote and provide voting resources to support them.
They aim to be “a non-partisan, pro-democracy organization that seeks to educate, mobilize and represent our generation of voters on the Tech campus” said Alexa Bowman Olay, first-year PUBP and president of GT Voters of Tomorrow.
In every student organization on campus, it is important to have a strong officer team who can lead and work together effectively.
For GT Voters of Tomorrow, this is a six-person board, with Olay as their president, Lillian Hanson as vice president, Navya Gupta as secretary, Anika Singh as treasurer, Alice Kennedy who serves for graphic design and social media and Ellise Barker as event coordinator.
The organization welcomes students who are interested in getting involved — they can use a form linked on Voters of Tomorrow’s Instagram, @gatech_vot.
The entire Voters of Tomorrow team at Tech encourages students to get involved in their organization so that there is more representation of Tech.
For Olay, the most important part about creating GT Voters of Tomorrow has been helping students to register to vote.
“The most successful way of getting students involved has been through tabling at Tech Green as well as posting on social media which has expanded the audience of campus members,” Olay said.
The tabling sessions the organization has been putting on these past weeks has allowed the officer team to see that a lot of students, especially the out-of-state, are unsure on how to register to vote.
One important thing that Olay wants Tech students to realize is that even if you are an out-of-state student, you are still able to vote in Georgia. This can be done by updating your voter registration.
Alternatively, submit an absentee ballot to vote for your home state’s elections.
“The process of informing students that they can participate in voting and also helping them register to be able to vote has been an inspiring experience,” Olay said.
Voters of Tomorrow will be collaborating with other student organizations to inform students on the importance of voting as well as provide a basis for how to become more involved in the political sphere. Olay hopes to continue to expand the organization through working on increasing the number of members involved with the organization.
“This is the inaugural year for Voters of Tomorrow, and we want to emphasize the importance of voting and increasing voter turnout in the upcoming Georgia election,” Olay said.
The primary focus for the organization will be to help students get more involved through joining the club and making the voter registration process more accessible.
In terms of voter awareness, GT Voters of Tomorrow has been providing information on how to register and get prepared for voting on Nov. 8 through their Instagram. They also are working to put flyers out to inform students about the deadline for registration.
The Secretary of State’s website, mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/, allows for easy access to sign-up to register to vote.