Campus organization ‘Show Me Votes’ encourages students to vote

‘Show Me Votes’ is a non-partisan, student-led organization founded in 2022 and assists in registering students to vote as well as honing the importance of participating in elections.

Show Me Votes does not have any political affiliation. Its main goal is to remain unbiased to ensure it does not sway students in any particular way or towards any party.

“We don't even talk up one candidate or another one,” vice president Kassie Northington, a senior biochemistry and microbiology major, said. “We just tell them that voting is how you can be heard in America.”

Senior public relations major Chloé Ray, founder and president of Show Me Votes, started the organization to help students with voting registration and provide them with other helpful resources like vote.org and Rock the Vote.

Ray said that because this is a non-partisan organization, their purpose is to register students and uplift them with any voting questions in the polling places. This will help students feel confident in the voting booth.

The organization has partnered with the Cape Girardeau county clerk's office and National Voter’s Registration Day in the past as another way to spread the word to students about voting importance.

In addition to outside sources, members have also worked with other SEMO organizations. In 2022, they partnered with the campus sustainability club for National Voter Registration Day, calling their tabling event ‘Plants and Politics.’

Ray said this event helped register around 15-20 students to vote.

Senior political science and public relations major Kayla McCain is an officer for the organization. She said social media plays a large role in spreading their message.

“Even if we're not having physical events or doing things in person, we're able to use social media, and connect with SEMO students and just try to get people to share things and get the word out,” McCain said. “So people know that we're still here.”

President Ray said that for the upcoming election, they plan to make sure students are registered to vote by the deadline, as well as make sure students feel comfortable with what will be on the ballot.