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We are headed into election season, and Carroll was officially the first Montana college to hire its Campus Election Fellow through the Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP). Reaching out to their peers, CEEP Fellows register their fellow students to vote, navigate them through voting rules, distribute educational materials, and organize and carry out “Get Out The Vote” events.
Carroll College students and faculty have been promoting political engagement in recent years. Nationwide, student voter turnout in the 2018 midterm elections was 48%, almost twice as high as it had been in 2014. Back in 2018, Carroll students registered voters at a nonpartisan "goats for votes" event, organized with help from Forward Montana. | |  | | Photos left to right: 2020 Campus Election Engagement Fellow Hellie Badaruddin. Carroll's "goats for votes" voter registration event held in 2018. The two students pictured are political science majors Sammi Trudeau '20 and Rachel Prevost '20. | | This year, sophomore Helen (Hellie) Badaruddin has been selected as one of Montana's Campus Election Engagement Fellows. Dr. Alex Street, associate professor of political science and international relations, said that he knew right away that Hellie would be perfect for the role since she is passionate about young people raising their voices.
"I got involved in CEEP because I know that voting is an investment in our future. With enough voters, the youth vote can sway an election (in Montana, an election can be decided by fewer than 100 votes), and without voting, we lose our voice. Young people/voters will be hit the hardest by upcoming national and global issues like climate change, the post-coronavirus economy, and gun ownership. As such, it is critical that we take charge, and that’s a goal I know that Carroll students would want to be a part of,” said Badaruddin.
Currently, Badaruddin is organizing voter registration events on National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 22), Vote Early Day (Oct. 24), and other days throughout the semester. “Obviously, COVID will present a challenge this year, but we're also working on more virtual and COVID-safe events," shared Badaruddin.
Below are some helpful links Badaruddin shared regarding voter registration:- app.mt.gov/voterinfo – Find out if you are registered to vote in Montana
- mtvr.org – Montana voter registration portal – fill out the basic information, and you'll be mailed a voter registration form with a pre-paid return envelope
- sosmt.gov – For more information on election services in Montana
- vote.gov – To register to vote if you are not from MT
| |  | | Photo courtesy of Thom Bridge, Helena IR | | Mary Anne McMahon '86 has been a math teacher for over 20 years and was recently awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honor for math and science educators. She lived and taught for much of her career in Bozeman but recently moved back to her hometown of Helena, teaching for two years at Helena High before taking her current position at Jefferson High School in Boulder. The Helena IR recently ran this story on Mary Anne: Boulder educator who taught in Helena receives prestigious national award. | | | |
