Young Democrats, Republicans partner for voter outreach

The Young Democrats and the College Republicans will meet to inform students on how they can register to vote and how to become an informed voter Wednesday night in the Twin Towers West glass lounge.

“Very few people our age understand what is going on in politics,” said Young Democrats member David Crawley, “and our age demographic is one of the least informed voters. So what we’re trying to do is educate students on how to register, and get people to go out and vote.”

“I think events like this are important because we have a lot of divisive rhetoric coming from both presidential candidates, and it’s crucial that we hear both sides of the issues,” said Sam Barnhouse, a member of the College Republicans. “I think people will see that we might disagree on a few issues, but we also agree on quite a few. At the end of the day, both Republicans and Democrats just want to lead our country down a path of greatness.”

The event will have chicken wings for students to eat while they learn about the upcoming national election and state and local politics.

The delegate for District 16, Sean Hornbuckle, and the Republican candidate for District 17, Anne Dandelet, will be attending the event Wednesday as well to not only campaign and motivate students to go out and vote for them, but also to educate students about what each party stands for and help students decide where they may stand as voters.

“I think it’s an essential part of every election, especially this one,” said Barnhouse. “Everyone wants to be the champion of the youth vote, but it’s hard to get them out to the polls. Also, many young adults don’t seem to be very interested in politics. So I think it’s great for candidates such as Anne and Sean to come speak and be engaged with students on campus. That way they can put a face to the name and have a voice on the issues that they’re passionate about.”

“Sean is a fantastic guy!” said Crawley. “He is one of the smartest guys I know. If he can talk to these students the way he has talked to us (the Young Democrats), then I’m sure we’ll have very educated voters.”

The event will begin at 8 p.m.

Tom Jenkins can be contacted at jenkins196@ marshall.edu.