Democracy was at work on Tuesday as Florida International University partnered with Engage Miami and The Miami Dade League of Women Voters to encourage students to register to vote.
“We’re trying to get people to engage in their civic duty. It matters to be able to vote and make change in your community,” said Landey Thibaud, a student at FIU and volunteer with Engage Miami.
The event was part of the 10th annual National Voter Registration Day, a non-partisan holiday on the fourth Tuesday of September.
DECISION 2022
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“There are a lot of things going on in our community that we have the power to change and I feel like a lot of people don’t register or don’t vote because they don’t have the information," said Luz Karina Núñez, a student at FIU and volunteer with Engage Miami. "I think with more organizations like Engage Miami, we can definitely get more young voters involved and just more people in general so we can make a big change in Miami."
There are three ways to vote: by mail, early voting or on Election Day, and this effort hopes to eliminate any barriers at the ballots, especially among the youth vote.
“Right now we’re seeing a trend where most voters are turning younger. If you look at the age brackets, more youth voters are getting out there, and especially the Latino vote is coming out in record numbers," said Natalie Martinez, a fellow with the Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership at FIU. "But it’s still not where we need it to be in order to be the majority vote in the United States when we’re looking at 18 to 24-year-olds."
Participants who signed up pledged to vote in the mid-term elections on Nov. 8. The deadline to register to vote in Florida is on Oct. 11.
“I’ve been in the elections field for 16 years and we’ve done dozens and dozens of recounts and I can tell you that there are many races that are decided by single-digit votes, so when people say I’m just one voter, it doesn’t really matter, nothing could be further from the truth and every vote really does count,” said Christina White, the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections.
NBC News has a #PlanYourVote tool ready to give you the key information you need to register to vote. Plus, learn about mail-in and early voting options, what to bring with you on Election Day, and more. Visit NBCNews.com/PlanYourVote for more information.
