Today and Wednesday the Mississippi State University Student Association will sponsor voter registration drives from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on the Drill Field and various locations on the MSU university campus.
   The voter registration drive is all in an effort to boost student participation in the upcoming presidential election. The U. S. Census Bureau reported that only 38 percent of voters ages 18 to 24 voted in the last presidential election making voter turnout for that group the lowest of any age group.
 Registration will be concentrated on the Drill Field but will have other locations scattered across campus including: Montgomery Hall, McComas Hall, Bowen Hall and Zacharias Village. Tables draped with patriotic table cloths will indicate to students they are at the right place to register to vote.
   Some of the organizations who have partnered or whose members will be involved in the event include, Foundation Ambassadors: Pre-Law Society, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, College Democrats, College Republicans, Shackhouls Honors Council, Freshman Council, Freshman Forum, Freshman Edge, Involvement Ambassadors, Students for Sustainable Campus, Blackw Student Association, Student Association Senate and Cabinet. 
 Students who wish to register to vote need to bring one form of government identification with them, such as passport, driver’s license or social security card.
     Roxanne Raven, the student association president, said voter registration is an important issue for many students and organizations on campus.
    “Obviously this year, it is a very popular initiative a lot of people have,” Raven said. “We got everyone together who was interested in having a drive.”
    Raven said the event will be setup with a homecoming like atmosphere. Getting students to vote is very important to Raven. She encourages others in her age group who are not registered to vote to come out and get registered.
    “It’s a really cool kind of collective effort,” Raven said.
    Kennedy Moehrs is the co-director for the Student Association’s Cabinet Diversity and Outreach and president of the MSU College Democrats. She said the College Democrats originally planned to host their own separate event. However, when the Student Association reached out to her and the organization, they decided to partner with them instead.
 For many students, Moehrs said, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about the presidential candidates.
    “A lot of students are still like, ‘I have no idea about the candidates at all’,” Moehrs said. “‘I need to know their positions.’”
   Moehrs said there will be information sheets for students on the tables detailing the policies and positions of each candidate. She also hopes to host information sessions about the candidates.
   One thing students should keep in mind, Moehrs said, is that the election has greater significance than who sits in the White House. The election will also determine who sits on the Supreme Court.
   “I think it’s important for students to be registered to vote,” Moehrs said. “This election is going to have a huge impact on them in the long run specifically with Supreme Court judges.”
   Moehrs is optimistic about the event and its prospects for success in registering students.
   “I think we should get a lot of people registered to vote,” Moehrs said. “They can’t ignore this.”
 Kathleen Kiernan, the co-director of the Student Association’s Cabinet on Community and Governmental Relations, said the event is being treated like a homecoming atmosphere.  
    Everyone who comes out to register to vote, Kiernan said, will get an “I registered to vote” sticker that has an American flag on it. Kiernan says the stickers were created by Jacob Dye, the marketing director for the student association.   
    The purpose of the stickers, Kiernan said, is to let those at the table registering students know if someone has already been registered, and avoid them being stopped again.
    Kiernan said registering to vote is easy and only takes about a minute. All students need to do is fill out their information and turn it in to a person at the table. Students who register at the event will then receive a voter registration card in the mail. 
   Besides the upcoming presidential election, Kiernan said students will have multiple opportunities to vote with city and mayoral elections, as well as state elections.
   Going out to vote, Kiernan said, takes less time than most students spend on Instagram. She said students need to realize the impact elections will have on them. Whoever wins an election can influence legislation that gets passed and nominate judges to the Supreme Court.
   “A lot of millennial are very turned off by this election because this will be the first election they will be able to vote in, and the candidates aren’t necessarily what we would desire,” Kiernan said. “But that doesn’t mean each candidate doesn’t have it’s own merit.”
   Kiernan advises students to go check out candidate’s platform pages and talk to others who may be more knowledgeable about the candidates. 
   “Don’t vote just for this person because everybody else is voting for them,” Kiernan said. “Do your research. Be an informed voter.” 
    Betty Thomas, the co-director of the student association’s cabinet on community and governmental relations, said it is important for students to get registered to vote, so they will be able to participate in this historical election.
    “I don’t want someone to, like, get through this month and just be ignorant to the fact that hey, if you want to vote on Election Day you already need to be registered to vote,” Thomas said. 
   In her freshman year at MSU, Thomas vividly remembers a sorority lunch and how exited she was about the midterm elections. When she asked the other girls sitting at the table if they had voted or were going to vote in the election, not a single girl replied yes. Thomas said the luncheon made her realize how big the problem of voting is among college students.
   Thomas also said more students voting in Starkville could potentially have a big impact on students at the university. Thomas said many students are not aware of the implications that city and state elections have on them.
    “If the state legislator sees that oh, all these Mississippi State students are voting, maybe we should make more favorable policies to Mississippi State,” Thomas said.
    Thomas, who is from Kansas, recently became registered to vote in Mississippi. She said many students who are registered to vote out of state do not know how to get an absentee ballot. Registering to vote in Starkville eliminates the difficulties students may have in getting an absentee ballot. It also makes it more likely students will vote come Election Day.
 Colton Robinson, president of the MSU College Republican’s and senator in the Student Association, said the goal of his organization is to get people interested in the election and provide information about the candidates who are running.
  “We are attempting an informal way of getting people involved and letting them know what the two parties are about,” Robinson said.
   Robinson said he wants people to sign up to vote even if they are voting for someone other than a Republican. What is important is for them to go out and vote. While not voting, he said, can be equated to voting for someone who you dislike.
  Robinson talked about the media’s importance and influence in the election. Also, how their portrayal of presidential candidates is not always as accurate as it should be for voters leaving them with doubt.
    “Sometimes the media can tip the table one way or the other,” Robinson said. “You never really know who you can trust.”
 For Robinson, the presidential election has significant bearing for anyone who is living.
   “This election is the most important election that has been held in our lifetimes,” Robinson said. “Whichever side wins, it’s going to be the biggest win of our life.”
 From his experience working local elections, Robinson knows how important the college voting block is. People running the campaigns thought he was crazy to tell them how important college voters are – only to find out later he was right and lose the election.
Recently, the Pew Research Center listed millennials, people ages 18 to 35, equal in size to the baby boomers voting block. 
Robinsons said millennials have the power to influence politicians and the policies they make simply by performing their civic duty of voting.
 “If they vote they can change the world,” Robinson said.