Chapel Hill High School club Diversity Alliance partnered with NC Asian Americans Together to host a voter registration drive at the school; the event was originally scheduled for Friday, February 7, but due to schools being closed for inclement weather, it was rescheduled for Tuesday, February 11.
Students who will be 18 years old by the general election in November could register, and students who were at least 16 years old could pre-register as voters.
After attending a summit for youth leadership with NC Asian Americans Together, sophomore Molly Cobb learned that the nonprofit organization would help students organize voter registration drives.
“I thought that would be a really good opportunity for our club to have more publicity and also just to get people to be educated and to vote,” Cobb said.
Senior and president of Diversity Alliance Hannalee Isaacs said the club was especially passionate about getting a voter registration drive at the school because members wanted to make sure that teachers and students’ voices were heard.
“A lot of younger voters don’t vote, and that usually impacts the elections,” Isaacs said.
The group seemed passionate about getting more young voters to turn out.
“It’s super important to vote, and it’s a great opportunity to get your voices heard. Being young and in a school environment, we have a lot of access to education; we should be able to showcase our voices,” Isaacs said.
“I think the goal is to get more people to sign up and be more educated about registering to vote,” sophomore and Diversity Alliance member Patricia Eskenazi added.
Isaacs said Diversity Alliance was pleased with the number of voters the drive registered.
“Not only did we register 35 students to vote, but we also spread the word about important information regarding early voting and Super Tuesday in general,” Isaacs said.
One of those 35 students was senior Felix Sylvestre.
“I like to be an active member in politics, and it’s important to vote and make your voice be heard,” Sylvestre said.
Sylvestre said that he probably would not have registered if not for the voter registration drive. “This makes it a lot easier to do,” he said.
Chapel Hill High School senior Yi-Ja Wright registered through the drive and voted in the North Carolina primary elections. Wright said she feels voting is a civic duty.
“By registering to vote, I am able to get a voice in matters that can potentially affect myself and the people around me,” Wright wrote in an email.
Wright said she thought the drive was a great idea and benefited everyone at the school; like Sylvestre, Wright said she probably would not have registered to vote if not for the drive.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t register to vote because I don’t have many connections in my community and don’t know of other places where I can easily register,” Wright said.
