The RICEngaged Coalition organized two voter registration drives for the Rice community to prepare for the March 1 primary election. The events took place outside of Fondren Library in January with the help of the Center for Civic Leadership (CCL), the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office and several Rice-affiliated Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars (VDVR).
A wide variety of people registered to vote or update their information at the event, including undergraduate and graduate students, new faculty members, Rice alumni, Friends of Fondren Library members and several members of the community passing through the library or walking by outside.
A member of the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office staff, Murphy Guinane, recruited VDVRs and worked to answer the many questions about the changes to election law this year.
At the end of the second day, 71 people had registered to vote. VDVR volunteers also answered a number of questions about voting in Texas. With the midterm elections coming in November, RICEngaged Coalition looks forward to hosting many more events to register voters, share accurate and timely information, and encourage everyone in the community to get out and vote.
The RICEngaged coalition is a partnership among partisan and nonpartisan student organization leaders, the Center for Civic Leadership, and Rice faculty and staff committed to engaging and educating Rice students in the democratic processes.
— Amanda Thomas
User Experience/Public Services Librarian
Fondren Library