Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) State Director, Donna Anderson, and CEEP Arizona Fellow, Michael Newman, coordinated with the Associated Students of the University of Arizona to host an exciting National Voter Registration Day event in the Student Pavilion. Several tents were up representing voter registration groups, student groups, and outside organizations. While these groups were all engaged in voter registration, but the climate was one of camaraderie, not competition.

The CEEP table was supported by volunteers from the Pima County Recorder’s Office who, like CEEP, also operate in a strictly non-partisan manner, and became the resource for students with complicated questions about their registered address both in-state and out-of-state. Newman spoke with students about voting in general and its relevance to democracy and encouraged them to register.  He also educated the other groups about the importance of accuracy in their documents, the complexities of student registration, and the risk of pressuring citizens to fill out the forms.

During the event, Newman was also interviewed by one of the local television stations, KGUN-9, which can be seen here. After the interview, he noted, “The event was successful in terms of newly registered voters.  However, students had a lot of questions and concerns about the rules.  The knowledge at our table was absolutely necessary.”

It was a hot day in the 90s, but students were treated to Eegee’s, a Tucson treat made of fruit and ice, which kept them cool and registering until the event ended at 2 pm.  

Donna Anderson was a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, teaching and engaging in research on the economics of race, ethnicity, gender, the environment and sustainability, and state & local government policy. She obtained a B.S. from Lehigh University, an M.A. from the University of Colorado, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, all in economics. 

Michael Newman, who was raised in Arizona, spent years in the private sector running small music businesses.  He’s a first-year Masters of Public Administration graduate student at the University of Arizona.