St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College may be a bay apart, but their mission is the same: register as many students as possible and make sure Tampa Bay votes in the 2022 elections.

Professors and students from both colleges are teaming up to spread the message of political participation and the importance of voting, hoping to break the record-breaking youth turnout of the 2018 midterm elections. During the week of National Voter Registration Day (9/20), both colleges will be hosting a series of virtual and in-person events centered around educating and registering students. ‘‘Elections are the bedrock of democracy. The more people participate, the more vibrant the U.S. polity is and remains,” says Dr. Gyldas Ofoulhast-Othamot of SPC. 

Nonpartisan organizations will be on hand at both colleges to assist students in registering fellow students to vote. Student governments of both colleges are hosting election centered events focused on educating students. Election experts like Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer will also be on campus at HCC to answer student questions on 9/21. SPC is hosting a variety of nonpartisan voter education outreach efforts including helping first time in college students and first-generation students to register to vote. Student-lead efforts are at the core of the SPC and HCC collaboration. 

With more students taking online classes, both colleges will host virtual events open to students from both sides of the bay. “Whether you’re a student on one side of the bay or the other, being a first-time voter can be daunting. There are a lot of important dates to know, forms to fill out, and that’s before you even start researching the candidates and issues! It does not matter if you are a first-time college student, nontraditional student, a completely online student, if we can help students through this important democratic process….we will,” said Dr. Eric Fiske of HCC. 

For questions about the Tampa Bay Votes initiative or more information about local events at your college, please contact Dr. Tara Newsom (newsom.tara@spcollege.edu) or Dr. Eric Fiske (efiske@hccfl.edu) or follow #VoteReady on social media. To check your registration status, head to votepinellas.gov or votehillsborough.gov.