Helping students and the community get registered to vote is the goal of Tusculum College’s Rock the Vote event, scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 28 in the Pioneer Arena in Niswonger Commons. The event will feature keynote speaker Tre Hargett, Tennessee Secretary of State.
The event will be held from 1:30-3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Secretary Hargett will also be available to answer questions about voter registration and Tusculum College will provide an opportunity for voter registration on site. Also during the event a mock vote will be held and plans are also to have interactive games on the democratic system.
Hargett was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to serve as Tennessee’s 37th secretary of state in 2009 and reelected in 2013. He is the chief executive officer of the Department of State with oversight of more than 300 employees.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett
In order to help increase voter registration, turnout and awareness across Tennessee, Secretary Hargett launched the GoVoteTN campaign. Through this program, during the month of September, which is National Voter Registration Month, Tennesseans should have someone take a picture of them holding an “I’m registered to vote. Are you?” sign, then post it using the hashtag #GoVoteTN.
A flurry of posts is expected on Tuesday, Sept. 27 to celebrate National Voter Registration Day.
“This is a great educational opportunity for our students and our community,” said Courtney Washburn, program coordinator for the Center for Civic Advancement at Tusculum College. “We want to educate and also get people registered to vote, and this is an open, fun way to reach those goals.”
The Rock the Vote event is a project in support of Constitution Day and is supported by the Center for Civic Advancement, the Bonner Leader Program and Tusculum’s Service Learning program. Additionally, it is part of the S.P.I.E.S. initiative, a campus-wide Individual Wellness through Community Engagement initiative.
For more information, contact Courtney Washburn, program coordinator for the Center for Civic Advancement, at cwashburn@tusculum.edu.