Students at UConn’s Storrs campus will be able to walk from their dorms to the bookstore to cast their ballot during the 2024 president election.
“Young people can make a huge difference in Connecticut, provided they make their voice heard by voting,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (D-Connecticut) said.
The town of Mansfield and the university approved the bookstore as a second early voting location. Students and staff who are registered to vote in town can stop by the polling site between Oct. 21 and Nov. 3, and on Election Day Nov. 5.
The new voting option is a relief for students who often have busy schedules.
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“Sometimes you may have a plan to vote and then you remember I have this assignment or this paper or lab I have to finish and now I can’t vote, which is terrible because student voices are the future,” UConn Student Body President Lorien Touponse said.
State officials visited the campus Tuesday morning to encourage voter registration at Gampel Pavilion and highlight Next Gen Elections.
“Through the Next Gen Elections program, we're tapping into the energy, the cheerleaders and the passion of civically engaged college students to help build a future workforce in elections,” Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas (D-Connecticut) said.
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The new program, funded through a federal grant and operated by the Secretary of the State’s office, trains and pays college students, like Haritha Subramanian, to become poll workers and moderators.
“Every single tiny detail you can think of into how we set up an election site and how we run elections is what we are learning,” Subramanian said.
Through the program, 40 students from 11 colleges and universities in Connecticut will be trained ahead of the election season. 17 students are from UConn.
This is the first-of-its kind program in the country trying to encourage the next generation to be civically engaged.
“When we have an aging poll worker group, a lot of them who are retiring, it is really important we engage our young people to start getting involved in running those elections,” Subramanian said.
Students can register to vote at Gampel Pavilion on Thursday between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
