Some Central Connecticut State University faculty and students said that “it’s great” to hear the news of increased voting registrations in America, but they believe the country needs to do more to make voting registration more accessible to every citizen.
Jerold Duquette, a professor of Political Science at Central from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, said, “I would prefer that we not pretend there isn’t a problem so that we can pass these voting laws right.”
Voter registration is breaking records nationally as election day approaches, particularly among young people, many of whom are first-time voters.
According to Vote.org, voters under 35 made up 81% of Tuesday’s registrations, with the most significant spike among 18-year-olds. On this year’s National Voter Registration Day, 11% of those registered were 18, 53% higher than on the same day four years ago.
Logan Palardy, Central’s SGA president from Rockfall, Connecticut, said, “It’s a very popular issue right now for young people to feel like they don’t have a say, probably because of the age of people in Congress at the moment. So, I think younger people exercising that right to vote is great.”
Jason Jakubowski, a Political Science professor from West Hartford, Connecticut, said, “Usually, the older you get, particularly senior citizens, tend to vote in very high numbers. I think what you realize is that when younger people vote, the outcome is absolutely different.”
Younger people were not the only group growing in larger numbers.
According to CBS News, new data indicated a surge in voter registrations among crucial voting groups for the 2024 election.
This data found that the number of young women of color registering to vote has been at an all-time high ever since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the 2024 race against Donald J. Trump.
According to data from TargetSmart, the voter registration rate for young Black women in 13 key battleground states increased by 175%— nearly triple the rate from the last presidential election four years ago. The registration rate for Black women generally experienced similar growth, increasing by 98%, while the overall Black voter rate also rose by 85%.
Diana Ramirez, a sophomore social work student said, “I feel nervous, and I hope I’m making the right decision for the outcomes of the future. But I do have a lot of hope for the candidate I am voting for. It’s a new experience but I’m excited for it.”
Voter registration is not as easily accessible in all states as in Connecticut. Many southern states have made it very hard for people to register to vote.
“While it may be true that overall, since the 2000s, voting has gotten easier, it’s gotten a little bit harder in some states since 2013,” Duquette said.
According to NPR, since the 2020 election, at least six states have passed legislation cracking down on voter registration drives. Many groups view the laws enacted in Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Tennessee as an existential threat to their work. Several have shut down operations rather than risk financial penalties or prison time resulting from these laws.
“Instead of leaving it up to the individual states, it should be the federal government ensuring that all citizens in all 50 states have equal access to register to vote, and then ultimately can vote,” Jakubowski said.
