North Texas Daily

Organizations like Denton Vote Group (DVG) and the Student Government Association mobilized to register new student voters in time for the Oct. 5 deadline, having adjusted their strategies to meet challenges brought on by the pandemic.

DVG has forgone in-person registration in favor of placing registration forms in places students are likely to come in contact with such as every residence hall front desk, and at the entrances of dining halls.

“I ordered thousands of voter registration applications from the Secretary of State,” Student Engagement Director of DVG Bonnie Moore said. “And this is for [the residence halls] because all the freshmen are on campus.”

As of last week, Moore estimates residence halls across campus have received about 2,700 forms from students.

The problem with this approach, Moore said, is now more responsibility falls on the students to make sure their registration form information is correct and postmarked by the deadline date.

To help alleviate confusion, Moore answered some of the most frequently asked questions by students during a zoom conference with SGA President Michael Luecke.

SGA will participate in various activities across campus this week to reach students such as handing out registration forms at Union Circle Parking Garage on Tuesday. Members will also hand out registration forms throughout campus on Thursday. SGA will send out PSAs through its social media channels throughout the week.

“We are expecting these days will help encourage voter registration on our campus and express to students the importance of voting,” Luecke said in an email to the North Texas Daily.

As the majority of students on campus are freshman and may have recently become eligible voters, most efforts are being focused on them. All dorm resident assistants are encouraged to share information and provide guidance to students within their wing.

“We’re doing our part,” Maple Hall Resident Assistant Derek Hulitt said. “In my hall with my coworkers, we’re getting the information out to the residents as soon as we know.”

Hulitt said there are flyers throughout the hall which remind students of registration opportunities and he further drives the message through utilizing group chats shared by RAs and residents.

For this election cycle, future first-time voters have online and in-person resources to depend on. Social media such as Instagram and Snapchat have both added features that allow users to register within the apps itself.

“I’m not really worried about it for anybody,” media arts sophomore Juliana Chavez, who is registered, said. “I think there [are] a lot of opportunities options for everybody. The school is offering multiple sources to go and vote.”

Featured Image: Voter registration cards are available inside residence halls on Sept. 29, 2020. Denton Vote Group and SGA began their efforts to register new student voters. Image by Quincy Palmer