At the end of 2023, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed several bills to improve election efficiency, expand voter registration options, and protect elections as the presidential election approaches this November. While this historic legislative action will hopefully mean improved elections statewide, students, staff, and faculty at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) are determined to ensure that EMU’s student community knows what it means to participate in voting.
Part of the package of state bills included moving Michigan’s primary election date three weeks earlier, to Feb. 27, in a move to increase accessibility to the polls. But the change in date also means that some EMU students may now have difficulty voting at their usual polling place at the Honors College, as the new primary date is during the school’s spring break. Students like Naomi Barbour, a junior majoring in political science and public law, are focusing on helping students not only get registered to vote, but inform them of new voting options they can now access.
