PVCC’s Election Expo Encourages Students to Vote

On Oct. 23 from 12:45-2 p.m., PVCC’s Election Expo event was hosted by PVCC Civic Sense in the Main Building Event Space. The Election Expo helped engage PVCC students with voting information and politics, featuring information booths on how to vote, tables with local members from the Democratic and Republican parties, cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and an election prediction booth. 

People set up at information booths around the event space walked PVCC students through the process of registering to vote. In Virginia, people over the age of 18 are able to either register online or in-person on Election Day before voting, then vote either through a mail-in ballot or in-person.

At the expo, tables were set up with members from various local political organizations, who talked about voting, politics, and civic engagement. Members of the local Democratic and Republican parties present helped answer any questions about voting or politics any PVCC students had.

Alongside these party members, Evette Barton, diversity, equity, and inclusion chairperson for the League of Women Voters of the Charlottesville Area, helped spread awareness of the importance of voting, especially to young women. Barton said that voting “is a right,” and a way to be heard if they “have grievances, and want them to be heard.” Voting is a powerful right United States citizens have, and by voting together, it allows us to be heard by the government.

While encouraging PVCC students to vote is important, Civic Sense also believes that being informed about what you are voting on is an important part of democracy. At this event, copies of the 2024 PVCC Non-Partisan Voter Guide, written by Michael Kent and edited by The Forum students, were available for people to read or take. This voter guide, written and edited to be non-partisan, featured the policies of each candidate as well as a sample ballot and other additional information about voting. 

As the Civic Engagement Coordinator, Connie Jorgensen, assistant professor of political science at PVCC, said that the goal of the Election Expo was to provide “students with info about the election.” Jorgensen said that by talking “to the actual party members,” PVCC students could learn not just about how to vote, but what they are voting for. Jorgensen believes that young voters like us will “be the voice of the future,” so it is important that we are properly informed on how to vote and what we are voting for.

At PVCC, the goal of Civic Sense is to raise awareness on the power that people’s votes have. The National Study of Student Learning, Voting, and Engagement Reports found that in the 2020 election, 71.2% PVCC students voted, a 9.6% increase from 2016. Through events like the Election Expo, Civic Sense ensures that PVCC students are as informed about voting as possible, and that we as students can contribute to democracy.