NEIU students took advantage of the student voter registration drive in Village Square, sponsored by NEIU’s chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) and other organizations. The Independent interviewed two students about their experience registering to vote at the drive on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.
Naryjane Scott, an environmental science major, said, “It’s easy that it’s here, and it just shows support for that the young people really are the future for the voters’ country.”
Juwan Smith, an information technology major, said, “I hadn’t voted in a while, so getting back into voting was pretty simple. I appreciate NEIU supplying me with the tools to vote again. I think voting is a very important process, part of taking responsibility of our community and each other.”
UPI’s Vice President Olivia Cronk, Creating Access to STEM for All (CASA) advisor Katrina Underwood and volunteers from other organizations assisted NEIU students on the Illinois Online Voter Application website. Additionally, there were also snacks, stickers, buttons and drinks offered for NEIU students during the student registration drive.
“They just pointed me to the website and walked away so that I was alone with just a computer so I can get whatever I wanted done,” Scott said.
Smith said, “The staff was wonderful. They’re very knowledgeable on top of helping me register to vote. They led me to some internship resources, like the [Learning] Success Center and [College of Business and Technology].”
Since the tables were set up at Village Square, many NEIU students were given an opportunity to check their voter registration status, as well.
After the drive, UPI’s VP Cronk said in an email, “We didn’t keep formal count (something to think about for next time), but those of us at the table all day are estimating that we registered 20-25 students, helped 10-15 look up whether or not they were registered, and did a lot of chatting with students about polling places and early voting.”
While Election Day is on Nov. 5, 2024, “The College/University Early Voting Program establishes temporary additional Early Voting locations for a three-day period on both private and public college and university campuses in Chicago,” according to the Chicago Board of Elections Commision.
NEIU’s main campus is a university site for early voting that will be open from Oct. 30, 2024 to Nov. 1, 2024. In addition, NEIU’s satellite campus El Centro will be an early voting site from Oct. 21, 2024 to Nov. 5, 2024. The chart graphic from Illinois Online Voter Application shows the Early Voting/Grace Period Registration Locations of NEIU’s main campus and NEIU’s El Centro located in the city of Chicago.
At these Early Voting sites, only Chicago residents can vote at NEIU’s main campus and El Centro. However, any registered voter from a city not in Cook County such as Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, Cicero and Schaumburg need to use early voting sites assigned for their specific areas. The early voting sites for non-Cook County voters can be seen on the Illinois State Board of Elections website.
