Give a vote and get a doughnut – that will be the theme Tuesday during the Donut Forget to Vote event in the Idaho Commons food court. For Election Day, students from the Center for Volunteerism and Social Action will begin handing out free doughnuts to people with an “I voted” sticker starting at 11 a.m.
“It will just go until we run out of doughnuts,” said Courtney Stoker, a student outreach coordinator with the center. Vandal Dining will provide doughnuts for the event.
The Election Day event is only one of many programs the center has put on this election season to encourage civic engagement among University of Idaho students.
Stoker said the center partnered with the Idaho Civic Engagement Project to put on a tabling event on National Voter Registration Day and also hosted screenings of presidential primary debates earlier this school year.
Stoker said the center is also working with TurboVote to register students to vote no matter their home county or state. She said TurboVote makes it easy for students to register to vote and takes into consideration the various voting regulations in different counties and states.
Stoker said the center started using TurboVote last year and has registered about 600 people in total between this year and last year. She said the center has registered more than 200 people this year.
While Moscow residents will head to the polls Tuesday to vote on city council seats, Stoker said the center has been encouraging students to vote no matter where they call home.
“Where ever you call home, that”s where we want you to vote,” Stoker said.
Although there might not be a national election just yet, Stoker said local elections often have the most impact on communities and votes in local elections often carry more weight.
Stoker said local government deals with topics that affect the regular person on a daily basis, such as road infrastructure or city ordinances.
Jessica McDermott, a student outreach coordinator at the center, said college is a great time to become an active citizen and develop good voting habits – even in off-year elections.
“It”s not just the presidential election where we can show our opinion,” McDermott said.
While Stoker said it”s still difficult to get people to come out for local elections, she hopes the center”s efforts help get more people involved in civic engagement.
“Even if 10 more people go out and vote than last year, that”s a success,” Stoker said.
For those looking to register to vote in Moscow, Stoker said people can register at the polling location, but must have a photo ID and be able to show proof of residence.
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ryantarinelli