In less than a month, people across the United States will go to the polls to cast their ballot and participate in the democratic system at the heart of our country. Yesterday, early voting opened across Tennessee and people are already mailing in their ballots. On campus, several organizations are helping people make a plan to vote and a Canvas module is available for instructors to encourage their students to participate in the electoral process.
Vols Vote, an initiative from the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, is a coalition of individuals and UT organizations who want to ensure our Volunteer community has access to nonpartisan information on voting. Several upcoming events provide our community with information on the process of voting as well as candidate forums.
The Supreme Court is at the center of national dialogue after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Professor Richard Pacelle, an expert on the evolution of and issues in the Supreme Court, will present “Forty More Years: The Election, the Supreme Court, and Your Rights,” next Tuesday, Oct. 20 via Zoom. Learn more and register here.
In our next College Conversations presentation October 22, “To Vote or Not to Vote? That is the Question,” Political Science Professors Christopher Ojeda and Richard Pacelle will talk about how voting is a central political issue today probably more so than it ever has been since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, but yet, both parties accuse the other of compromising the integrity of our elections. They will discuss voter suppressions and what we can do about it, but perhaps more importantly, why you should vote in this election. Register here.
Regardless of where we land on the political spectrum, we all have a responsibility to play a role in the democratic process. Learn more at volsvote.utk.edu.