The country will decide on its next president in November. And voters in Louisiana will settle a number of local and state elections.

For this generation of students at LSU, it may be their first time going to the polls. The deadline to register is only a few weeks away.

Geaux Vote LSU, a non-partisan student organization committed to registering students to vote as well as civically and responsibly engage with the community, coordinated an hours-long voter drive and speaker series on Tuesday to celebrate National Voter Registration Day in Free Speech Alley and the Union. 

Emma Long, Geaux Vote’s president, said Geaux Vote’s six student-officers collaborated with a total of six student-run civic engagement organizations to pull together the event.

On Tuesday alone, Long said, the organization successfully registered at least 50 new voters. Her goal for Geaux Vote is to be responsible for registering 2,000 voters ahead of the election on Nov. 5. She said more may have registered because of Geaux Vote’s help, but aren’t counted by their metrics.

“Elections aren’t just at the top of the ballot. I think a lot of people just think they’re only voting for president, but there’s a lot of really important races, especially local races, that are coming up this cycle,” Long, a political science and mass communication senior, said. 

Geaux Vote and the other organizations tabled together in Free Speech Alley under the Louisiana sun a few hours before they moved into the Student Union to hear from their guests.

It partnered with Black Girls Vote, the Panhellenic Council, the Black Student Union, Bridge LSU and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Speakers at the event included local political activist Jacquelyn Germany, East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Voters Steve Raborn, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Devonte Lewis, and Zoë Cretini, Associate Digital Communications Director at Students Learn Students Vote Coalition.

Each speaker highlighted the importance of civic engagement and how crucial young voters are to shaping the future.

“If you are not knowledgeable, and you don’t know what’s going on, how can you make a change?” Germany asked. 

The need for voters to stay informed about political issues and candidates is evident. Her message echoed the event’s overarching theme: that knowledge and participation are key to influencing positive civic change.

“By voting we create the demand for candidates that look like us, act like us, and think like us,” Cretini said.

The event’s organizers and speakers emphasized voting is not just about the presidential ticket.

“I often find a lot of students don’t think about those lower level elections, and so those can be super important when it comes to micro-level issues that affect your day-to-day life,” Long said.The buildings on campus are constructed based on the decisions of elected officials, she said as an example.

“It’s really important that they be informed voters. So we’re also letting people know that they can go and seek out their sample ballots so they can be informed about what they will be voting come this next election period,” said Sy’Rai Adams, international studies senior and vice president of Geaux Vote. 

Since 2018, Geaux Vote has registered 8,910 voters. In the past week, it’s tallied 113, Long said.

“Many students face challenges when it comes to voting,” said Cretini. 

She said the votes of young people and students are often “suppressed” because of their influence. Without the right information or resources, she said, many students feel discouraged from casting their vote.

LSU has over 35,000 students. Given that most are over 18 and U.S. citizens, that makes for a lot of potential voters.

Geaux Vote offers students tools to navigate the voting process. The organization encourages students to check their voter registration status, find local polling locations and learn about upcoming local elections through their website, lsu.turbovote.org. Long also quotes LSU’s Policy Statement 22, which allows voting in local, state and federal elections to count as a valid reason for absence from class.

For Louisiana voters, the deadline for mail-in voter registration is Oct. 7, while the online registration deadline is Oct. 15.