Andrew Goodman Foundation encourages student voting in midterm elections

The Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF) is working to educate students on the importance of voting and provide students methods and means to vote in upcoming elections. During the 2022 midterm elections in Nov., all one hundred seats in the House of Representatives and thirty-five of the one hundred seats in the Senate will be contested.  The elections will be held Nov. 8 2022, and the deadlines to register to vote or apply for an absentee ballot are Oct. 14 and 24, respectively. 

According to the AGF website, the foundation’s goal is to ensure that young voters aged 18-29 are properly represented at both the national and local levels of government. The foundation provides resources, education, and opportunities for students and young adults to vote in any election.

The AGF website says: “The Andrew Goodman Foundation works to make young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy. We support youth leadership development, voting accessibility, and social justice initiatives on campuses across the country.” 

Senior international relations major and AGF Vote Everywhere Ambassador Tim Rainis said that, in Geneseo, the main goal of the foundation is making sure that every student has the opportunity to vote. 

“Our primary focus is on civic engagement on campus and ensuring all students who can vote actually end up voting in all elections, whether they are a presidential, midterm, or local elections,” said Rainis. 

He said that, while the COVID-19 pandemic caused student engagement problems for many on-campus organizations, the AGF has continued to reach out and encourage students to increase their civic engagement and utilize their right to vote. 

“Every year we develop a strategy on how to best reach people where they are and make it as easy and seamless as possible to get students registered and educate them on their rights and upcoming elections. Of course, COVID made us change a lot since we previously relied heavily on freshman orientation to get a lot of registration done. A lot of that programming has been scaled back in recent years, so we've had to be creative with utilizing more of the new student programming to catch people’s attention. We’re trying to make that connection as soon as possible so students are made aware of the importance of voting and registering to vote right when they get on campus,” said Rainis. “Ever since COVID, this is another year of restructuring our stuff and just picking up the pieces. A lot of organizations can attest to the challenge of trying to bring back student engagement on campus and get back to normal.”

This semester, the Student Association Ticket Office in the MacVittie College Union is offering to mail student absentee ballots free of charge, and the on-campus polling location for the Nov. 8 elections will be the Union Ballroom. 

The foundation has been advertising from a table in the Union, offering registration forms and advice for students who are registering to vote. Rainis said that many students can be confused by the many possible methods for registering to vote, and that the AGF representatives in the Union will be there to answer any student questions. 

“A lot of people come with questions on the process, because there's a lot of different ways you can go about voting as a student. You can be registered here [in Geneseo], you can be registered at home, you can vote by mail, or you can vote in person. So, at times it’s a very confusing thing to vote as a student because you do have a lot of options and sometimes it’s hard to figure out which one is best for you,” he said. “But we’ve tried to make it as seamless as possible. We’ve created a guide that kind of walks you through the process of voting as a student and gives you all of your options in a streamlined way.” 

In addition to their presence in the Union, the AGF recently updated their webpage on the SUNY Geneseo website, providing quick access to resources and frequently asked questions. There are also Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development (GOLD) mentors available in the GOLD room in the Union, who are trained and knowledgeable in the voting registration process. Additional information can be found on the AGF Instagram, @geneseovotes. 

The foundation will also be hosting a discussion and question and answer session with candidates for the Geneseo Town Board—date, time, and location are to be determined.