Sept. 20, Mississippi State University’s student organizations and departments will host drives and events for National Voter Registration Day.
Thessalia Merivaki, an assistant professor in the political science and public administration department, said her department planned to host guests and set up voter registration drives to celebrate.
“The Sept. 20 event is part of a larger effort to engage more stakeholders from Mississippi State University, local election officials, the state election official, other organizations and of course, hopefully, national stakeholders,” Merivaki said.
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson will be a guest speaker on National Voter Registration Day, and he plans to actively help with registration efforts.
“We’ll do a public session where we do some Q&As, and we’ll talk a little bit about voter registration and why it’s important for students to be engaged,” Watson said.
Along with Dr. James Chamberlain and Dr. Leslie Baker, Merivaki said she received a grant from the Scholars Strategy Network to support voter education activities at MSU.
MSU’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration will be implementing a program called Building Trust in Elections, which involves gathering research at voting-related events.
“What a lot of the interventions we are doing have to do with is peer to peer outreach, faculty-led instruction relating to elections and assignments about these processes in class. So, a lot of things that involve collaboration,” Merivaki said.
Merivaki said she hoped the events planned would spread awareness to students outside of the political science realm.
“We hope that when we engage outside, we broaden our reach to other students from other disciplines, and they see the benefit and the importance of being politically active,” Merivaki said.
Watson said awareness was important regarding student voter participation, and awareness was his goal for Tuesday’s events.
“Once the first few get involved and they start telling their friends, it seems to grow from there,” Watson said.
Watson said he felt voting was important because individuals can hold elected officials accountable for their actions.
“I think that is such an important part of governance,” Watson said.
According to Merivaki, the voting process for students living on campus is complicated.
“Living in the dorms offer some complications because of the address. They don’t have a solid residential mailing address to receive their voter registration card,” Merivaki said.
Without a proper residential address, Merivaki said the student’s polling location is affected.
Currently, there are no polling locations on campus. Previously, Humphrey Coliseum hosted a polling location before it was removed in 2017 due to scheduling conflicts with the NCAA, according to Merivaki.
However, Merivaki said there were efforts being made to identify two new polling locations near campus by 2024.
For now, students have to vote in their designated polling area in Oktibbeha County or in their hometowns. Merivaki said students can either travel back home to vote or request an absentee ballot.
In terms of absentee ballots, Merivaki said this process was challenging due to the notarized request and postage fees attached.
“This is a more burdensome process for students because they might not know where to find the notary,” Merivaki said.
Oktibbeha County has multiple notaries, including Election Deputy Clerk Sheryl Elmore. For more information, call 662-323-1456.
Merivaki said she has had previous students who struggled to receive the request form or have not been automatically granted the request for absentee ballots.
“It’s not easy to vote in Mississippi. The same applies to registration,” Merivaki said.
Jessica Pettis, a senior double majoring in political science and communication, said she would be helping Merivaki by serving as a liaison between the PSPA department and other organizations Tuesday.
Pettis said she had been involved in voter registration efforts on campus since her freshman year.
“’I’m really passionate about making sure students know that their voices are heard because you come to college, and you’re away from your parents for the first time. It’s really a time to explore yourself, your beliefs and what you think about things,” Pettis said.
Working with her, La’Katherine Campbell, a senior majoring in business administration, will be helping ensure the day runs smoothly.
Campbell said the main focus for the event was to make the voting registration process easier and more accessible to students.
“Voting increases the impact of having your voice heard. I always say that if they don’t give you a limit, don’t stop,” Campbell said.
Campbell has also been involved in the Mississippi Votes organization in Jackson, where young people join together to progress Mississippi.
“I feel like most of us feel like our vote won’t count or one vote is not going to help. It actually does,” Campbell said. 
The Department of Political Science and Public Administration sponsored this article.