East Lansing

#OurVoteCounts: Getting millennial women registered this election

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If every millennial woman voted, there would be a huge voting bloc in this election, said Katherine Mirani, news editor at Her Campus. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, 64 percent of women reported voting in the 2012 election. But of those voters, only 45 percent of women age 18-24 voted, compared to 61 percent of voters age 24-44, 70 percent of voters age 45-64 and 73 percent of voters age 65-74. “We have a lot of power as young women,” said the editor, 24, from Boston, “but we have to actually use it.”

On Sept. 27, Her Campus – a new-media brand for empowered college women based in Boston, Mass.

East Lansing

Millennials face obstacles registering to vote

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By Chloe Kiple

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Political disinterest, tricky voting laws and registration processes may stand between millennials and the February 8th deadline to register to vote in the upcoming Michigan presidential primary. “I don’t want to vote in the presidential primary,” said Michigan State senior journalism major Kelsey Banas. “I’m really just not into it, I hate politics.”

Less than 50 percent of millennials, or people ages 18 to 35, say that they will not vote in the presidential primary according to a January 2016 USA Today survey. For many young voters like Banas, feeling disengaged or uninterested in politics is a major deterrent to civic engagement and voter registration.

First-time voters

MSU students share thoughts on voter registration

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By Anjana Schroeder
MI First Election

College campuses arguably have the largest amount of first time voters. After speaking to several Michigan State students, including Roneesha Jackson, Nate Kesto and Tommy McCoy, the temperature of the presidential elections became a bit more clear. Some students were unsure about whether or not they were going to even register to vote. Nate Kesto said he wanted to learn more about the candidates before he even made the decision to register to vote. Breonnya Wright said she didn’t want to vote and wasn’t interested in the presidential election, while Jacob Riesser said he would prefer not to share who he was voting for but was confident he would register and vote in his home town.