As the Oct. 15 deadline for online voter registration in Louisiana neared, LSU Student Government made a strong push to ensure students were prepared for the upcoming election season. The group hosted a voter registration table in Free Speech Alley on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., offering assistance and resources to students eager to engage in the civic process.
With early voting in Louisiana starting this weekend, the timing of the registration drive was key. Emma Long, a senior mass communication major, emphasized the importance of voting early, particularly as it coincides with LSU’s fall break.
“This weekend, early voting opens in Louisiana, and it also corresponds with our fall break,” Long said. “So we’re also trying to encourage people, when they are going home for fall break, to pass by the voting booth and vote early.”
For many students, especially if it is their first time voting, casting a vote can seem overwhelming.
“I think encouraging people to vote regardless is always important,” said coastal meteorology junior Jonathan Russell. “But when you’re younger and you don’t know how to vote for the first time, it’s important to understand the resources available to you.”
Russell added that helping students develop a plan to vote is just as crucial as registering. “A lot of people come up to us and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’ It’s important to show that there’s outreach within Student Government and that there are resources available for students.”
In addition to SG’s efforts, organization Black Girls Vote was also set up in Free Speech Alley, promoting voter registration among Black women on campus.
“We’re just trying to better represent ourselves and let other Black women know that our votes matter,” said political science junior Nakyrie Celestine. “We’re trying to get more Black girls, more Black women involved, not just in the presidential elections, but in the small elections, because they also matter.”
Celestine noted that the group has been registering students for the past three weeks and has successfully registered about 100 students to vote during that time.
Early voting in Louisiana begins Oct. 18 and will last until Oct. 29, excluding Sundays. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
