Francis Marion University (FMU) held a voter registration drive on Monday, Sept. 30 in the
breezeway between Founder’s Hall (FH) and the Cauthen Educational Media Center (CEMC).
Tevent sought and encouraged unregistered individuals to register.
The event was hosted by FMU’s College Democrats who are also known as the Young
Democrats. The group sat from 8 a.m.to 3 p.m. registering students and answering any questions
concerning voting. Members of the group also passed out flyers supporting the event as well
information regarding changes in the registering process.
The drive secured registered voters and explained changes about the different voting ids that
are now required to vote in elections.
This event also gave students the chance to fill out voting applications and place them in a
secured lock box. Applications were later delivered to the Florence County Voter Registration
and Election Commission Office. Those who registered are expected to receive registration cards
in the mail.
The students who were already registered were asked to pass out flyers supporting the event
and to encourage their friends to stop by and register.
The drive also brought awareness of voting to FMU’s campus in attempts to get students
more involved not only in voting, but in general politics as well.
Nancy Salmond, junior psychology major and member of the College Democrats,
thinks that it is really important for the youth to get involved in local politics. She believes that students
should be more active and heard in the government.
This voter registration drive was brought on by next year’s elections for Governor. During
the drive, information regarding the candidates was also available for students.
The College Democrats believe that it’s vital to get all South Carolinians registered for this
important upcoming election. Chaquez McCall, president of the organization, expressed the
importance of the College Democrats getting more people registered to Vote.
“ There’s a million unregistered voters, and College Democrats are devoted to getting
Florence County registered to vote.” McCall said.
The organization plans to hold more drives in the future
in order to get more people
registered
. Unregistered voters can meet the College Democrats
at the Wilson High School
Homecoming and at the state fair in Columbia, SC.
When advertising for the voter registration drive, Destiny Floyd, College Democrat’s director
of communications, found social networking was quicker and attracted more people. She
believes it is easier to reach more people this way. In the future, the group plans to attract more
unregistered voters with posters, flyers and increased social networking.
The club is hopeful that advertising in these ways will bring more people out.
Furthering their efforts, the group even spent Saturday, Sept. 28 going around Florence
County apartment complexes to get unregistered voters registered. From 1 p.m to 3 p.m., the
group was able to obtain 40 applications, resulting in 40 newly registered voters.
With roughly 20 members, the group is determined when registering voters as they try to
bring political awareness to the Florence and FMU community.
According to the College Democrats, their purpose is to promote higher political efficacy and
support the Democratic Party. They will not sway an individual’s vote or pressure them to join
the Democratic Party, but they do want to see the Democratic Party expand and be successful in
the future. The College Democrats’s are held every Wednesday in the Leatherman Science Facility
(LSF) in room 205 at 6 p.m. If you are interested in becoming a part of this organization, they
welcome you to attend an upcoming meeting and ask them about joining.