Early Bird

National Voter Registration Day is today

Roadrunners are leaders in civic engagement. Here’s how MSU Denver students – and you – can help carry that tradition this election season.

By Cory Phare

September 22, 2020

Anyone can register to vote and check their registration status at the Colorado Secretary of State’s voter-registration website.

That’s the most important thing to know this National Voter Registration Day, happening today, said Hollie Hendrikson, Metropolitan State University of Denver political-science faculty member involved in student voter registration and University outreach efforts taking place this week.

“We want to get as many people registered as possible,” she said. “If you aren’t by next week, you might not get a ballot mailed to you and will have to go physically to your polling place, so this really is the time to get everyone registered.”

Civic engagement is a cornerstone of MSU Denver, a longstanding member of the AASCU’s American Democracy Project, said Hendrikson. As reported in the University’s recent Economic Impact Report on data from Tufts University, Roadrunner students voted in the 2016 election at a rate of 65.9%, 15.5 percentage points higher than the national average of institutions surveyed; 2018 midterm elections also saw voting rates of 54.9% (MSU Denver) vs. 39.1% (national).

“The goal is to reinforce the University’s longstanding culture of civic engagement,” Hendrikson said. “Our students are engaged in service already – that’s how we meet out in our communities and continue our leadership as a University.”

Ballots in Colorado will be mailed Oct. 9 and will be arriving that following week; all ballots should arrive by Oct. 19. Hendrikson noted that although the on-the-ground efforts are understandably reduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of interest from local and national voter-outreach organizations has been high.

And in the tumult of 2020, she also noted the empowerment of this simple foundation of our democratic processes.

“If you don’t like what the current policymakers are doing, it’s an easy way to remedy that,” Hendrikson said. “You’re making a change – and making your voice heard.”

Your students – and you – can register to vote or check your registration status here.

Other upcoming outreach efforts MSU Denver is offering include a debate-watch party Sept. 29 and a socially distanced on-campus event Oct. 22. On Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., will interview Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul Lopez about early voting in an event hosted by MSU Denver alumni. Learn more and register.

Keep an eye out for more information on voter-registration events on MSU Denver’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.