As more MSMS students turn 18, many plan to vote in the upcoming November presidential election. The MSMS Young Democrats held a non-partisan virtual voter drive this past Wednesday, Sept. 16, to register students who are eligible to vote in November.

“Basically, we just walk people through the process of registering to vote and answer any questions that they may have,” said senior Gracie Rowland, who helped run the voter drive.

Not only is the purpose of the voter drive to encourage young adults to vote, but Young Democrats Vice President Niyah Lockett said it helps nervous young voters understand the impact of their voice.

“It can be intimidating to navigate the registration process alone, so the voter drive is a great place to start,” Lockett said. “Hopefully, the voter drive will encourage other students from MSMS and different schools to register, increasing the Gen Z vote in the election. All too often, the voices of young people are ignored. We want to change that.”

The main goal of the drive was to have any and all eligible students registered to vote, but Lockett says that even if not everyone gets registered after the drive, every vote counts.

“I don’t think any specific number of new registrants makes the drive successful,” Lockett said. “If only one student registers, it’s a win for our future.”

Young Democrats President Elisabeth Seage mostly planned the voter drive, and to make it available to everyone throughout the day, Lockett said they came up with the idea of keeping an all-day Zoom call, manned in different time slots by those who signed up to help.

This voter drive was a follow up to another drive held in the spring, so the turnout was less but still viewed as a success. The main goal was to ensure that every student who can vote, registered.

“I believe almost every eligible student was already registered in our spring registration drive,” said Mr. Yarborough, the sponsor of the Young Democrats.

Yarborough also said that he believed the voter drive went very well.

“I would say it was a success. And I was pleased with the club members’ positive spirit encouraging their classmates to participate fully in our democratic system with civil discourse.”

As the election draws closer, the importance of voting is only becoming more evident.

“I think that every vote counts,” Rowland said. “And I believe that our efforts illustrated the importance of voting to students.”