Personal Statement

I spent my sophomore year of high school researching the ins and outs of the American electoral process, trying to answer my own questions that arose following the 2016 Presidential Election. Armed with information, I became passionate about combating systematic voter suppression in the United States. For over a half century, all Americans have had the right to vote; however, barriers to voting in low income areas and the failure to make Election Day a national holiday present unnecessary obstacles to one of our civic responsibilities as American citizens. These obstacles affect people of color at an astronomically higher rate than the rest of the populace, a consequence of centuries of systemic racism. In my home state of Virginia, I’ve lobbied state lawmakers to pass the No-Excuse Absentee Voting Bill, making mail in-voting more accessible to all Virginians, and worked to register voters in the Elon community and at home. As college students, we can educate ourselves about issues we may not be exposed to in our personal lives, engage in dynamic conversation, and go out into our communities with strategies to reform these systems at the state and local level, creating an America with truly free and fair elections.