Vote early on campus this week
Students and employees who are Chicago residents can take advantage of early voting on campus this week.
UIC will host an early voting site from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 in 613 Student Center East. Early voting on campus is available to all Chicago residents. On Election Day Nov. 6, registered voters can only vote at their assigned polling location.
UIC will host “Party at the Polls” in the Student Center East Inner Circle from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. In addition to music and food, the event will include a “Parade to the Polls” every hour on the hour, where students can accompany one another to cast their votes and make some friends along the way.
During the 2014 Midterm Election, only 18.9 percent of UIC students voted, compared with the 2016 Presidential Election, when 55 percent of UIC students voted. UIC aims to increase student voter participation in the 2018 Midterm Election from 18.9 percent to 29 percent this year.
“Millennials are the largest demographic of eligible voters,” said Dominic Belcaster, a graduate assistant in UIC Student Leadership and Civic Engagement who is pursuing a master’s in public administration.
“A lot of younger people do not feel like their vote matters or counts, but if everyone votes, they have some significant power,” said Spencer Long, director of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. “If you are happy or not happy with where things are currently, the only way to keep in the direction that we are heading or to change that is to vote who your representation is at whichever level.”
UIC Civic Engagement will host an Election Day Results Watch Party at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Student Center East Inner Circle.
UIC Student Leadership and Civic Engagement recommends using the following nonpartisan sites for more information on candidates and policies:
