Lucy Sheldon ’27
Staff Writer
On Sept. 17, 2024, National Voter Registration Day took place, seven weeks out from Election Day. As a bi-partisan civic holiday, National Voter Registration Day allows Americans, regardless of political party, to join together and celebrate the fundamental right of living in a democratic country. Trinity College observed this day by setting up a voter-registration booth on the Gates Quad, opposite of Mather Hall.
The Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement set up the table and tent along with the nonpartisan initiative TrinVotes! The mission of TrinVotes!, as stated on their website, is to make registering to vote more accessible by connecting Trinity college students with resources and information on candidates and opportunities to increase their civil engagement. At the voter registration booth, students and faculty affiliated with these groups directed the Trinity community to information on how to register to vote, explained what a mail-in ballot is and how to cast one and offered up pamphlets, stickers and bags of candy as a treat. This event held on National Voter Registration Day, was geared towards carrying out Trinity College’s action plan to promote civil engagement on campus and fulfill Trinity’s commitment to the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is an initiative designed to work with college and university campuses across the nation to stimulate democratic engagement by registering students to vote and by informing students of their voting rights and upcoming elections. Trinity committed to ALL IN’s initiative in 2018, joining as one of 1,072 institutions that are a part of the challenge. As of two years ago, Trinity College was distinguished as a 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. Since Trinity’s initial partnership with ALL IN, the college has released an action plan every two years, detailing a provisional plan the administration intends to follow to increase electoral and civic participation.
Connecticut’s Deputy Secretary of the State, Jaqueline Kozin, was in attendance at Trinity’s voter registration booth this year. She interacted with students and answered any questions or concerns students had about voting. Kozin fulfilled the position of Connecticut’s Deputy Secretary of State in 2023. A resident of Hartford, Kozin has spent her career serving the Connecticut community and local government. In her current appointment, Kozin is tasked with several vital responsibilities such as overseeing elections, protecting the voting rights of Connecticut’s residents and expanding ballot access. It was no surprise, then, that Kozin joined the Trinity Community on National Voter Registration Day as an indispensable resource for Trinity students navigating this election season.
[…] Trinity College Celebrates National Voter Registration Day […]