Your Vote Matters and CEEP is Here to Help

by: Brett Marshall, CSU Public Relations Assistant

Your vote matters and the Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) wants to make sure they can help you be prepared to cast it!

CEEP is a national nonpartisan project that helps faculty, staff and student leaders on college campuses engage students in federal, state and local elections. MSU’s branch of CEEP is spearheaded by sophomore Andrew Trenne.

“I decided to get involved with CEEP because I wanted to see what impact I could make on our school’s voter turnout.” Trenne said. “Our age group is significantly impacted by the decisions made by our leaders and it’s important to have our voices heard no matter what party or background you are.”

Trenne and CEEP have been actively involved in getting MSU’s students registered to vote and educating them on what’s coming in the election. They’ve been fielding voting questions and have put up giant displays with candidate information in between the campus bookstore and the Student Activities Office.

The group is also hosting a “Your Vote Matters” event Oct. 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Ostrander Auditorium that will provide information on the importance of voting, how to register and have free refreshments. Trenne hopes this event will help emphasize the upcoming election and it’s importance to the state of Minnesota.

“I think this election is super interesting, especially seeing how close a lot of the races are this year. I am deeply interested in our state politics and it has been interesting to see how the governor’s race has shaped up.” Trenne said.

Minnesota’s election holds extra importance this year as well because a special election for the Senate means two Senate seats are open instead of the usual single seat. Democratic representatives, Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (incumbent), are running against Republican representatives, Karin Housley and Jim Newberger, respectively.

Trenne says that the only thing more important than voting is making sure people make an educated vote.

“An educated vote is essential because, when you vote, you want to not vote for party affiliation, but for who best represents and describes your views,” he said. “Voting is not about which party gets more seats or votes, but what the public thinks on the issues because if the elected officials represent what the public thinks, then the process of decision making will be influenced by the public instead of parties, which is what supposed to happen.”

The election is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 6, and those interested in voting can find all the resources need to prepare by checking out this guide from our Insider this week. Anyone seeking more information from CEEP or Trenne, can contact andrew.trenne@mnsu.edu.

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