With sample ballots in hand, a group of Bryant students approaches a black voting machine in the university’s George E. Bello Center for Information and Technology. Sliding their pieces of paper into the top of the four-foot rectangular contraption, there’s a sense of excitement amongst them — even if this is just a practice round. Standing beside them are Rhode Island’s Director of Elections Kathy Placencia and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Rock who are on campus to discuss the trustworthiness of elections, ways to vote, and what to expect at polling sites on Election Day.

“At the Rhode Island Department of State, we are in charge of ballot creation. We also provide guides and publications for not only candidates but for the general public, and we’re in charge of mailing out the mail ballots,” says Placencia, who goes on to explain additional roles that the State Board of Elections and local boards of canvassers play in the election process.

The pair’s visit is part of a series of events hosted by Bryant Votes — a committee of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to encouraging civic participation. Actively educating the campus community on voter registration and engaging in civic activities, undergrads are learning everything from how to fill out an absentee ballot to understanding the protections in place to mitigate election fraud.

New to the voting scene

With 18 being the legal age to vote, colleges and universities are reaching students at what will likely be the first election they're eligible to vote in, notes Politics, Law, and Society Lecturer Ilisabeth Bornstein, J.D., who created the committee in 2020 and has been running and organizing it each election year since.

“Civic education applies to all of us and the more we talk about it with each other, the stronger our communities will be. There's a lot of information and issues out there; it takes work to be part of a democracy,” says Bornstein.

To engage students, Bryant Votes has implemented the use of Motivote, an online platform that helps individuals complete basic voter registration and voter education. All actions are gamified so individuals can earn points as they go and are eligible to win prizes.

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In addition to Motivote, the committee brought in speakers to discuss the relevance of the Constitution today, the intersection of religion and political identity, and the countering of disinformation related to health and politics. While the events are helping move the campus toward an ongoing conversation in election topics that can carry over into midterm and non-election years, the discussions give students the opportunity to educate themselves, form their own opinions, and define or even redefine values that they will carry with them post-college.

“Voting is a lifetime skill. No matter where students go or where they are a citizen, they are part of a community and they have rights and responsibilities to engage in that community,” Bornstein says.

Helping their peers

For Toby Sagar ’26, talking with first-year students about why it’s important to vote has been his favorite part of being on the Bryant Votes committee.

“They have at least 10 administrations ahead of them, which is an incredible way to think about voting because they're going to learn so much and they're going to have a huge impact on society,” says Sagar, who’s pursuing a dual degree – including a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Law.

In addition to teaching fellow undergrads how to register to vote, Sagar helped to gauge the types of events students would find informative and intriguing. Of the final four chosen, Sagar noted that he was most looking forward to attending the event on misinformation and disinformation.

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“It's one of those topics that’s incredibly prevalent right now with social media. There's news almost every day about people saying whatever they want and others taking that as fact; that can lead to very aggressive circumstances and consequences,” says Sagar, who’s also a member of the university’s track and field and cross-country teams.

As one of the many other student committee members, Finance major Rosemary Mcilroy ’25 noted that, with all the animosity surrounding politics in America, it's more important now than ever to remember what America stands for and to go vote.

“Once people stop caring and stop participating, that is when other influences can creep in,” says Mcilroy, who’s a member of the women’s lacrosse team.

To the election booth

Back in the Bello Center, Rock wraps up the hour-long talk with a story. Several years ago, he received a phone call from one of Rhode Island’s cities and towns who were looking at their primary results. There’d been a tie with two of the members for a Republican seat on the town committee. The town committee could only take 25 people and the 25th and 26th person had the same number of votes.

“I tell you that because every vote does matter,” says Rock.

While the difference between the two presidential candidates could be several million votes, he notes that local town council and school committee races will be much closer.

“So, make sure that you don't just focus on the president. It's an important race no doubt, but make sure that you do your research on all your other candidates as well,” Rock says.