SIPA is closed today for the 2018 U.S. elections. This is a midterm election, meaning it takes place halfway through a president’s four-year term. Today, voters across the country will go to the polls to for positions from Congress all the way to local school board members.
Over the last few weeks, SIPA students have been incredibly involved in get out the vote efforts, including student organization Civic & Voter Engagement Coalition (CiVEC). They’ve been phone banking, canvassing, registering voters, and most recently flew out to Florida, Texas, and Georgia to help get civically engaged. Many are staying in the New York and New Jersey area to help get out the vote.
Why? Here’s what voting means to them:
“Civic Engagement is a quintessential element of what makes our American democracy so beautiful and appealing to many. It is important, now more than ever, to exercise our right to vote and amplify the voices of those who believe that decency and hard work can overcome hate and polarization.” — Andres Chong-Qui Torres ’19, SIPA CiVEC Co-Founder and President
“To me, voting is about more than making my own voice heard. I vote because as a CiVEC member, SIPA student, and a progressive, I know my voice is loudest when it comes together with the voices of my friends and neighbors.” — Alexandra Yellin ’20, SIPA CiVEC Member
CiVEC students have been working to get out the vote in Florida, Texas, Georgia, New York, and New Jersey.
