Want a free Sherpa Lounge Chair created by UGG? Show up to any Civic Couch Party location, snap a photo and post to your social with the hastags #ETSUVotes and #GoVoteTN to be entered for a chance to win! Civic Couch Party locations will be set up at various locations on campus, including: University Commons, the Amphitheatre, Carillon and the Quad.
JOHNSON CITY (Sept. 19, 2022) – Sept. 20 is known as National Voter Registration Day in the United States, and East Tennessee State University’s student-led initiative ETSU Votes is encouraging students, faculty, staff and members of the community to become engaged citizens by hosting the event Civic Couch Party.
The Civic Couch Party will take place in the University Commons on ETSU’s campus from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Additional booths will be set up around campus to allow those eligible to vote in Tennessee to register to vote or check their registration status. Information will also be available for those needing assistance registering for out-of-state.
Efforts come after the establishment of ETSU’s very first early voting location on campus in the spring 2022 semester, and before the early voting period for the Nov. 8 election, which will take place from Oct. 19 through Nov. 3. The ETSU early voting site will be open Oct. 24 through Oct. 29.
“Each state is responsible for their own election and voter registration laws and we are proud to have Tennessee on the list of states that offer online voter registration,” said Nathaniel Farnor, coordinator of Leadership and Civic Engagement. “At ETSU, we hope to encourage and promote lifelong civic engagement and having faculty, staff and students participating in the election process is foundational to that work. By offering online registration and on-campus voting, we are working to make the process as simple and accessible as possible for members of the university and the larger community.”
Tennessee residents are also able to register to vote online at ovr.govote.tn.gov.
ETSU students that are eligible to vote in Tennessee who would like to register online are encouraged to do so through a special link provided by the Tennessee Secretary of State as a part of an on-going statewide competition between higher education institutions. Students can find the link by visiting the ETSU Votes web page at etsu.edu/votes and clicking “Register to Vote (Tennessee),” then selecting “East Tennessee State University” from the drop-down menu.
Students who register to vote through this method are free to share the news by using the hashtags #ETSUVotes and #GoVoteTN.
For further details about the Civic Couch party event or the state-wide voter registration initiative being hosted by the Tennessee Secretary of State, contact Farnor at farnor@etsu.edu or call (423) 439-4254.