Presidential Election 2024
"Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. "
By John Lewis from Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
What is Civic Engagement?
Civic Engagement is individuals working to solve or address issues in their community. It can be a local community like SHU or a larger community like the United States of America. Civic Engagement can take place in different ways - voting, volunteering for a local group, reaching out to your representatives, etc - and they are all valuable for affecting change in your community.
Vote
Voting is a great way to engage with local and national issues and affect change. Registering to vote is handled on a state level. The sites listed will help direct you to the state you want to register in.
- Check to see if you are eligible to vote.
- Register to vote (or check to see if you are registered)
- Information about Absentee or by Mail Voting
- Check your state's voter ID Requirements
Vote-by-Mail
Recently there has been a lot of conversation around voting by mail. Voting by mail is legal and safe!
But it can also be confusing and you want to make sure that your vote is counted. More than 50% of young people do not think they have the knowledge or resources to vote by mail. The links above can help answer some of your questions, and so can we.
Some states require your ballot to be RECEIVED by November 3rd to count, others require it to be POSTMARKED by November 3rd.
USPS recommends mailing your ballot by October 20, 2020. If you would like more information on mailing your ballot in CBS This Morning did an experiment to see how long it took to get fake ballots back.
Voting in the 2020 election with the current pandemic will present new challenges. ProPublica is collecting articles about the different issues.
Reach Out
Civic Engagement doesn't end with voting. Learning about issues and reaching out to your elected officials to make sure your issues are being represented.
Find your National and Local Representatives
Learn about National and Local Issues:
- GovTrack.us tracks what bills and issues Congress is addressing.
- OpenStates.org tracks bills, legislation, and representatives in each state.
Volunteer
Volunteering is another way to be civically involved. There are many ways you can volunteer with other SHU people:
Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) - With DOVE Campus Ministry seeks to raise the awareness of social injustice with direct involvement in serving others.
Student Organizations:
Leadership/Government
Philanthropic
Political/Social Justice