The National Pan-Hellenic Council hosted an informative event on voting rights and ballot knowledge for students, faculty and staff in the Ronnie Williams Student Center on Sept. 12. 

Know Your Ballot and Know Your Rights are initiatives established to empower voters with pertinent information and details about their rights and the voting process. 

Know Your Ballot provides voters with essential details on understanding the issues and candidates, how to navigate the ballots, and ensures voters that their vote is accurately counted, promoting confident and informed participation in elections. 

Know Your Rights hones in on educating individuals about their legal rights during the election process, such as access to polls, the right to vote without discrimination and protections against voter intimidation. 

Students Jada Williams and Rashad Thrower started off the informative speech with a few icebreakers about different voting statements to get the communication flowing from the crowd. 

They went on to talk about how voting is the cornerstone of democracy and an imperative way for people from the younger generation to get involved and shape their future. 

Thrower said this event would help future generations and get them involved in politics. 

“Events like this are to help get information out there, like the dates and rights that voters have,” Thrower said. “College students and many in this generation don’t always know how to register, where to go, how to get in contact, they don’t know how to do that. This teaches them where and how to get registered or that they can even ask for an absentee ballot.”

Williams said, “Majority of the recent, of-age voters we have spoken with have talked about the hardships with understanding the linguistics of the ballots and the proposals regarding voting.”

Junior Harley Walls said, “I heard about it through the NPHC Instagram and through their advisor. This event was important for our students so that they understand the importance of voting. The struggles I have in regards to the ballot are the amendments and laws trying to be passed because they are worded in such a way that it doesn’t make sense to me.”

Williams and Thrower then went on to reiterate how college students face unique challenges when it comes to voting. 

They discussed how many students have trouble with registering, knowledge of where to vote, when and just how to get started in general as for many students this is their first time voting in a presidential election.

Freshman Shaley Jordan shared her dilemmas with being a first-time voter and newly acclimated college student. 

“One struggle that I have encountered since entering my freshman year is that I am not sure like what voting necessarily is and how to go through with all of the steps,” Jordan said. “It feels as though we are being thrown into such an adult topic while we are just now finding our footing in the college world. It’s like we are expected to make adult decisions with the information we have gathered during our teenage years.”

One of the key points made in their presentation is that “voting is more than just for the Presidential candidates. It is also for representatives, senators, local politics, etc.”

Williams and Thrower said, “The first step is to register to vote. Then you can check your registration status at www.voterview.org or feel free to simply call your country clerk.” 

There were some facts that they provided that many of the eventgoers did not know. 

Williams said, “If you are in line to vote when the polls close, don’t get out of line because they will still let you vote even if the polls close.” 

Thrower said, “If you are not on the voter list, but you believe that you are registered, you can ask for a provisional ballot.”

They also said that voting intimidation and harassment are illegal.

 “You can report any issues to your local police election office or voter protection hotline,” Williams said.

The biggest focal point from this event that Thrower and Williams drove home was that “your vote matters, so go take action.”

There are many different ways to vote such as voting in person locally, some states allow early voting, and absentee voting. 

The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 7 and Election Day is Nov. 5. 

For more information about voting and civic engagement, resources can be found at uca.edu/civicenvolvement.