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UF ahead of the pack in voter participation

T.J. Pyche Special to The Sun
Students register to vote on National Voter Registration Day in 2012. (File)

Students at the University of Florida are often criticized for many things. We are said to be politically apathetic, arrogant and disengaged in our society.

While some of these depictions may be accurate, the record of UF undergraduate and graduate students is much more promising. Take voting and participation in the political process: As we approach the November election, many student organizations on campus are collaborating to ensure that students continue a tradition of strong civic involvement.

In 2012, approximately 71 percent of UF students registered to vote and nearly 61 percent of students cast ballots, according to Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service’s National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement.

The UF student voting rate is well above the 48 percent national average for public research universities, and it is even higher than the 58 percent national voter turnout in 2012 reported by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The Bob Graham Center for Public Service is committed to keeping the UF community ahead of the pack in voter participation. With the help of campus partners, it is the Graham Center’s hope that UF students will eclipse the voting rate of residents statewide (72 percent for the last presidential election).

A little healthy competition never hurt, either: The Bob Graham Center is currently engaged in a voter registration competition with the University of Tennessee’s Howard Baker Center for Public Policy. The campus that registers the most student voters from September through the shared Oct. 11 deadline wins bragging rights and the de-facto title of “Most Engaged Campus.”

We currently trail in the competition, but with your help, that won’t last.

National Voter Registration Day is Sept. 27. Dozens of students from the Bob Graham Center, UF Student Government’s Chomp the Vote and the Andrew Goodman Foundation Vote Everywhere Ambassadors will spread out across campus, working to register voters and increase awareness of the upcoming election.

Beyond registering for the first time, updating one’s registration information is important as well. For most, Gainesville will be home for four years. Others graduate in less time, taking two or three years, while those like me work to extend their stay to five, six or 10 years. Nevertheless, a fuller college experience awaits those who register in Alachua County and engage with their new community.

If you’re feeling disillusioned by the contention of the presidential race, remember the ballot does not stop with the selection of the president. Florida voters will choose those who will represent them at the national, state and local levels. Four state Constitution amendment initiatives are on the Nov. 8 ballot as well. Issues range from the legalization of medical marijuana to solar energy to changes in homestead exemptions.

To register or update a voter registration, students can visit the Bob Graham Center for Public Service on the second floor of Pugh Hall, visit ufl.turbovote.org or see Chomp the Vote in Turlington Plaza between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesday and Thursdays.

— T.J. Pyche is a University of Florida senior, majoring in journalism and political science. He is the president of the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows and is the chair of the student organizing committee for UF's Future of Florida Annual Policy Summit.

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