Republicans and Democrats encourage college students to vote this November
Sep 27, 2024, 7:00 PM | Updated: 7:06 pm
A voter drops their ballot in a ballot drop box during primary election voting at the Orem Public Library in Orem on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Isaac Hale/Deseret News)
(Isaac Hale/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Ballots will be in the mail soon. That means the rush to get college students ready to vote is in full swing.
Both Republicans and Democrats know college students are a key demographic to growing their voter base. That’s why they’re holding events at schools all around the state to get their message out.
Mason Hughes, Communications Director for the Utah Democratic Party, said there’s a lot of excitement around campuses.
“We’ve got a lot of campus groups that are helping get students registered to vote,” he said. “I actually had the opportunity a few weeks ago to go table at BYU and talk with BYU students about why they should register to vote and how they can request absentee ballots.”
Beyond in-person events at schools, social media is another way they are reaching the college audience.
“We’re going to keep using these platforms to reach young people because we know that that’s where a lot of people get their news. We’ve got to meet people where they’re at,” Hughes said.
Utah Republican Party Chair Robert Axson said he’s also seeing a lot of enthusiasm from college students.
“The growing momentum of what we see is clear that there’s quite a few college students and college-aged Utahns who are excited to get involved with the Utah Republican Party.”
He went on to discuss what their party is doing to increase engagement.
“We’ve done dozens of events at college campuses. Currently we have 15 college interns working for the party and are connecting many others with various campaigns.”
Both parties said they hope college students will go out and vote, regardless of their political party affiliation.
