In 2021, Mississippi State University was awarded a “voter-friendly” status for student voter turn-out in the 2020 elections.
State officials and MSU student organizations and departments have made efforts to maintain youth participation in the upcoming midterm election.
Professor Thessalia Merivaki from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration said increasing both voter participation and awareness have been important in her department’s work.
“Hopefully, that can have some spillover effects to increase trust in elections,” Merivaki said.
Merivaki and other faculty in her department prepared for National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 20.
With help from students in her Political Behavior and American Government classes, Merivaki set up several voter registration booths on campus.
Ann Olivia Radicioni, vice president of Student Association, said SA was alongside Merivaki on Voter Registration Day.
“What we have going on right now is our voter registration drive, and they are going to be on the 20th, and I believe we also have another date on the 22nd,” Radicioni said.
Additionally, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson was on campus to spend time with students and spread awareness.
Watson said there is a clear link between civic education and voter participation.
“What we have found over the time that we educate more people about the process, the more comfortable they feel with the process, the more engaged or more willing to be engaged they are,” Watson said.
The Mississippi Secretary of State Ambassador Program has been working with over 50 high school seniors to increase voter education and awareness. The students have been participating in symposiums in Jackson and meet monthly via Zoom.
“The more engagement you see from the younger community, the more it spreads among them,” Watson said.
Merivaki said students should be motivated to vote since recent controversial federal policies were established.
“We’re talking about policies that directly affect your lives – like student debt,” Merivaki said. “With a recent Supreme Court decision, abortion has also become a major topic for several students across the nation.”
According to Watson, more involvement from the student body would result in a better government.
Along with voter registration assistance, Radicioni said the SA executive board was working to declare federal election day as a holiday. As a result, students would be relieved from class for the day to vote.
“So, the route that we think will be most beneficial to try and get federal election days off would be to appeal directly to IHL or Institute of Higher Learning,” Radicioni said.
If the appeal was approved, Radicioni said the change would impact other universities in Mississippi, too.
“Having that ability to actually get out there and vote is blocked by so many students who have been caught in classes all day or who have really busy on-campus schedules. Whether it be organizations, work or just courses, we thought it would be very important to go ahead and lobby at the source,” Radicioni said.
Additionally, she said SA honored the connection it had to the city.
“Progress can happen to be right in your city. That’s something that we’ve always advocated for,” Radicioni said.
Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said the city had no voting efforts planned this fall because of the impacts of other agencies like the NAACP and MSU organizations.
However, Spruill emphasized the significance of voting in local elections.
In a past election, Spruill won by only six votes. She recalled other instances where a local election resulted in a runoff.
“It may be sexy to vote for president, but it is critical to vote for aldermen or mayor or county supervisors because those votes actually are counted individually and matter when the tallies are done,” Spruill said.

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Landon Scheel | The Reflector

SA Vice President Ann Olivia Radicioni