Group works to get out Asian-American vote

In 2007, APIAVote-MI started as a small activist group informing voters about the harms brought on by a 2006 Michigan amendment, Proposal 2, that banned affirmative action programs in education. Since then, the group has registered thousands of Asian-American and Pacific Islander voters, held voter education events and reminded individuals via phone and mail to prioritize voting.

Line of students inside hallway

Biden wins Michigan primary; state’s new voting laws get test

Former Vice President Joe Biden was projected to win today’s Michigan Democratic primary as the state tried out its new voting rules. Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose campaign got a lift in the 2016 Michigan primary, found 2020 to be deflating.

East Lansing, including MSU students who were registered on campus, also faced questions about renewing property taxes that support the Capital Area Transportation Authority, Ingham County parks and trails, Potter Park Zoo, special education services and county health care services.

College student indoors

Democratic primary upends familiar family vote pattern

Young voters will go to this year’s polls with information they’ve obtained through their experiences, their peers and maybe even their parents. Will they follow their parents, or rebel? Christopher Ojeda, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, studies that. He did a study called “Accounting for the Child in the Transmission of Party Identification,” in 2015. He said household party affiliation can make it easier for young voters to decide. But affiliations might not be helpful in this Democratic primary. 

“In a general election when there are two candidates … it’s kind of easy for kids to use the party identification to make decisions about who to support,” he said.

Bailey Hall government meets state representatives

MSU students with Rep. Julie Brixie, fourth from left and, next to her, Rep. Padma Kuppa. Michigan State students connected with state representatives on a personal level Feb. 25, as Bailey Hall Government hosted Michigan Reps. Padma Kuppa and Julie Brixie for a small group discussion and dinner at Brody Hall. 

“Seeing someone’s name on the ballot or reading about them online is a lot different than actually being able to interact with them,” Bailey Hall President Juhi Parekh said. “An event when students can ask questions with the people they actually elected themselves is a great opportunity to understand the impact your voting can have.”

Bailey Hall President Juhi Parekh.