ORONO, Maine — To celebrate National Voter Registration Day, The University of Maine's Orono campus is participating in a cross-country effort to register voters in advance of November's general election.
Members of UMaine's UVote will host voter registration drives, which will also provide information about absentee voting, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the campus Mall, Stewart Quad, and Hilltop Quad.
"At Umaine we've been participating in this since 2014," said University of Maine Associate Professor of Political Science Robert Glover.
Since Umaine has been taking part in this initiative Glover said they've registered several hundred folks to vote. The goal is to register 200 more on Tuesday.
"All students that are on campus are eligible to register to vote in this address, so sometimes that's a misconception for students especially from out of state, they think they might not be eligible to register to vote in Orono, but they absolutely are and we are really here to help them with that process," says Jenny Desmond, UMaine coordinator for leadership development.
"This is unquestionably the most important election of our lives, it was the most important election of our lives before because climate change is at stake, affordable healthcare is at stake, reproductive rights are at stake," says Elizabeth Rosen, 'NextGen' Maine communications director.
"Our generation is either super energized, super motivated, ready to vote or we can be really apathetic and kind of just think that the real grown-ups will take care of that. But it's important for us to voice our concerns and be active citizens," says 'UVote' student ambassador Keely Mcconville.
Each location on campus will have Maine voter registration applications students and staff can fill out. Glover said folks who plan to register will need to bring a copy of their photo ID and proof of residence. If they have the necessary materials their applications will be brought to the local town office for them.
"I think a lot is on the line, I think...it sounds surfaced but I think decency is on the line. I think respect for the United States abroad is on the line, I think that health and security of the people in one the line," says Tim Mcinnis, a student at the University of Maine in Orono.
"Our system basically represents the people that are going to show up," said Glover on the importance of holding the voter registration drive. "We know that students tend to show up in lower numbers and as a result some of things that are important to students are less of a priority for policy makers. So people who show up on election day will have a system that represents them."
Tuesday's event is part of a semester-long effort to engage the UMaine campus this year. Over the past few weeks, UMaine "Student Voting Ambassadors" have been talking to students about voting and working to register new voters.
"Unfortunately during the pandemic, numbers of youth voter registration in Maine have fallen, and that is largely due to the lack of online voter registration. So young voters tend to be intinerant, me move around for school and work and we don't necessarily have connections at our municipal office," says Rosen.
Rosen says the world we are going to live on is at stake and that if why the youth vote matters so much this year. NextGen wants to make sure maine young voters have the resources they need to vote on this election.
Register to vote or check your status here.