The Mississippi Future Caucus (MFC) is hosting a summit for college-age voters to talk about the voting process: what worked, what didn’t and how to improve college students’ access to voting. The GENSummit on College Voting will be held at the Mississippi State Capitol on Saturday, January 12, 2019, from 9 am to 4 pm.
“Our hopes for this summit are two-fold,” said Representative Jeramey Anderson of Moss Point. “We want to provide an opportunity for our college students who participated or tried to participate in our election process to share their experiences, grievances, and ideas about the process. We plan to make the summit a bi-annual event so that we can continue to stay engaged with young voters and keep them engaged in the political process.”
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Mississippi’s top election official said he has waived all filing fees for notaries per a statute coming in 2019. He added that students can vote on weekends or request ballots through the mail.
“I don’t know a way to make it easier for students,” Hosemann said. “We’ve made it relatively easy, but we are not going to waive showing an ID. We are just not going to cart Blanche say you can vote any time over the internet when we don’t know who you are, so there is a process but I am hopeful that the importance of what we are doing, your Governor, your Senator, your Congressman, Mayor or, your Board of Supervisors, everything begins with the ballot box.”
The MFC is a bipartisan group of state legislators under the age of 40 who say their goal is to work together to develop legislation and to break partisan stalemates on issues that affect every day Mississippians. They hope the summit will draw students from different political affiliations and backgrounds in order to gain a diverse understanding of the voting process in college.
“We are very excited about bringing the next generation of leaders to our Capitol to discuss ways for them to make an impact,” said Representative Roun McNeal of Leakesville. “I firmly believe that if we give millennials a stronger voice in the direction of our state, they will be more likely to stay here, work here, and raise their families here.”
Registration for the event is free but is limited to the first 100 students who register. Lunch will be provided.
