Vote DePaul, founded in Jan. 2020, is a non-partisan campaign dedicated to registering DePaul students to vote. (DePaul University/Keeton Holder)Are you a first-time voter or someone who needs help registering to vote? Founded in Jan. 2020,
Vote DePaul is a non-partisan campaign dedicated to registering DePaul students to vote. Last year, the organization registered 285 students to vote and helped nearly 500 others with tasks including absentee voting or changing their address.
“Vote DePaul wants to relieve some of the stress that may exist as a first-time voter. We can help you through this process,” says
Patrick Rezek, assistant director in the Office of Student Involvement.
Despite being a relatively new organization, Vote DePaul has helped DePaul earn recognition nationally for its voter registration efforts. In 2021, the university was named a
Voter Friendly Campus, and earlier this week,
ALL IN awarded DePaul a silver seal for its campus voting rate for the 2022 midterm elections.
Registering to vote only takes minutes. Vote DePaul is also seeking to help students put their civic duties into action in other ways.
“We want students to consider what issues are important to them and their values, and what’s important to their community. We want them to know how to do their own research, and how to keep their civic engagement up after election day,” Rezek says. “Vote DePaul wants students to become engaged citizens in the world.”
Vote DePaul also employees two students who serve as voter engagement specialists. They assist with various aspects like social media, education development training such as training RAs to help register students to vote, outreach to other student organizations and running event programing.
Jake Cox, a journalism and English literature double major, serves as one of the voter engagement specialists and discusses with his fellow students the importance of casting their ballot.
“Young people historically vote at a lower rate than any other demographic group, so helping my peers get registered and increasing turnout is essential to see changes get made that are important for people in the college-age group.”
Cox emphasizes that democracy requires active engagement.
“When I worked on voting advocacy in the past, I was always told, ‘democracy is not a spectator sport,’ which has really stuck with me,” Cox says. “As citizens, it’s not only our right to vote but our duty.”
Resources and upcoming events include:
Access Voting Resources Online
Tuesday, Sept. 17
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Lincoln Park Student Center Room 220
Register to vote or, if you’re already registered, come out for the fun, which will include a photo booth, games, Constitution trivia, food, prizes and a voter registration table.
Friday, Sept. 27
2 – 4 p.m.
The Quad (Lincoln Park)
Look for Vote DePaul’s table at Vinny Fest.
Monday, Sept. 30
10 – 11:45 a.m.
Lincoln Park Student Center Atrium
Join Vote DePaul for voting registration and donuts.
Russell Dorn is a senior manager of media relations in University Communications.