On National Voter Registration Day, 68 UF students registered to vote.
The Bob Graham Center for Public Service registered the voters across campus Tuesday. Students registered at Marston Science Library, the Reitz Union and Pugh Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Megan Newsome, a UF astrophysics senior, said students do care about politics.
“It’s a big myth that students are apathetic about voting on political issues or that we don’t care,” Newsome said. “I think that if anything it’s equal to other generations, and if not, we care more.”
The 21-year-old is the lead ambassador for the national Vote Everywhere Program, which registers voters and makes petitions to restore felons’ voting rights. The program is also trying to establish early voting locations at educational institutions across Florida.
Newsome said the state’s early voting law requires that locations are evenly spread to reach the high-population centers in a city. She said in Gainesville there’s a high population at UF but no early voting location.
“The fact that there isn’t a location here means we are largely ignoring the actual requirement of the law,” Newsome said.
Charles Williams, an 18-year-old UF political science freshman, said it’s important for students to vote, volunteer and learn about political issues.
“The whole atmosphere for everything, even classroom discussions, can be vastly changed just by who you vote for,” Williams said.
Megan Newsome, a 21-year-old UF astrophysics senior, gives instructions to other students in Pugh Hall as they register to vote.
Emily Llerena, an 18-year-old UF political science freshman, jots down why she chose to register to vote before posing for a photo on National Voter Registration Day.
