Brandeis students to the nation: Vote

The upcoming November elections have mobilized Brandeis students to get involved in the electoral process.

Photo/Envato Market

The upcoming November elections have mobilized Brandeis students to get involved in the electoral process.

The small-d democratic spirit is alive and well on campus. Consider VoteDeis, a nonpartisan campus coalition supporting voter registration and voting. The coalition includes students, faculty and staff who  share voting resources with departments, clubs, institutes and organizations across the university.

Eliza Welty ’22 of Pomona, California and Alison Hagani ’22 from Woodbridge, Connecticut have both assisted with VoteDeis’ voter registration drives on campus and say encouraging people to vote has never been more important. 

Welty, a politics major who leads the BrandeisDems, is also organizing watch parties for the 2020 Presidential Debates. Hagani, a sociology and women’s and gender studies double major, is volunteering as a poll worker.

“I’ve been interested in politics for as long as I can remember, but this election has taken it to a new level,” Welty said. “We’re just trying to get as many students as possible registered to vote. It’s important for young people to vote and have their voices heard.”

Hagani, who will report to Waltham’s Ward 7 polling center November 3, where the on-campus Brandeis community votes in-person, said she feels fortunate to have such an opportunity on Election Day.

Hagani will be at the polling center from morning until night on Election Day, providing ballots and checking in voters by their street address.

“I wanted to work at the polls because of the confusion with voting access during COVID-19 and because voting rights are being politicized at a time when we’re relying on states to enact good policies around mail-in voting,” she added. “I want to make sure I do what I can to drive nonpartisan security in our elections.”

There’s still plenty of time to learn about the issues and candidates on the ballot. Welty is working with the university to organize three ways the Brandeis community can watch the presidential debates: on Zoom, inside a tent on the Great Lawn, or socially-distanced inside the Shapiro Campus Center theater.

“The debates give you a chance to hear the issues and see the candidates interact,” Welty said. “It’s important to be engaged in that discourse.”