Buffalo State University Establishes New Polling Location for Students
Studies show that individuals who begin voting when they are young are more likely to continue voting throughout their lives. As a designated Voter-Friendly Campus participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Buffalo State University has established the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center as an on-campus polling site for students.
For students who have registered to vote with their campus address, the Alumni and Visitor Center will be open for voting on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Efforts to secure the new polling location were led by William Benfanti, associate vice president for institutional advancement and external relations, and Peter Yacobucci, associate professor of political science and coordinator of the Buffalo State chapter of the American Democracy Project. The process included submitting petitions to the Erie County Board of Elections and a site inspection by Erie County board officials.
“Previously, students had to leave campus to go to a polling location on Rees Street,” Yacobucci said. “This imposed a psychological barrier for students who are not from Buffalo and do not know the community. Nearly all evidence shows that the less costly in time and effort we can make it for citizens to vote, the more likely they are to vote. Having a polling booth on campus reduces the cost and travel distance for students.”
In collaboration with the Dr. Katherine S. Conway-Turner Civic and Community Engagement Office (CCE), Student Affairs, and the League of Women Voters Buffalo Niagara (LWVBN), Buffalo State registered 296 incoming freshman and transfer students to vote during summer 2024’s New Student Orientation sessions.
On Thursday, October 24, a Voting Empowerment Rally—co-sponsored by the Bengals Vote Coalition; the CCE; the Student Political Society; the Political Science, Public Administration, and Planning Department; and the LWVBN—was held in the Campbell Student Union to promote the new polling site and encourage voter participation. The event featured speeches by Yacobucci; Buffalo State Interim President Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D.; Erie County Election Commissioner Jeremy Zellner; Jessica Smith-Overholt, executive office manager representing Erie County Election Commissioner Ralph Mohr; Nile Blass, DMV organizer for League of Women Voters USA; and Jamie Lechner, founder of Young Gens Vote.
“Voting is a communal expression of civic engagement, which provides the glue that keeps our democracy going,” Yacobucci said. “Please get out and vote, and find at least one other individual and drag them to vote as well. The more we can encourage each other to use our right to vote, the better the country will be.”
For more information about the polling location, please visit the New York State Board of Elections website.
Photos by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.
