Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (Students), or OSPIRG, is an Oregon-orientated non-profit with a mission of six community-related campaigns including affordable higher education and 100% renewable energy. Their newest campaign, The New Voters Project, aims for an increase in student voters.
OSPIRG Student is located at college campuses across the state of Oregon, while the headquarters for the overarching state foundation is located in Portland. PIRG, the overarching organization, spreads across various states in America and activists across the country are collectively calling for change. OSPIRG Students localize the outcry, with focused goals based on the needs of the state.
With a statewide goal across multiple campuses, the New Voter Project aims to amplify the voices of young voters. To target their audience to the young and educated, OSPIRG takes action at college campuses.
Campaign Coordinator and Vice Chair of OSPIRG, Prissila Moreno, a sophomore at UO, oversees the New Voters Project’s goals and events. Moreno described the project as the largest and most effective nonpartisan voter registration program in the nation. In multiplying the pledged voters on college campuses, the voice of the youth is amplified. Moreno said OSPIRG has a five year plan to institutionalize voting.
OSPIRG is not the only advisory voting group on campus. The Associated Students of the University of Oregon or ASUO, uses their role of government as an example of the impact voting can have on a community. ASUO’s Senate Freshman Representative, Taliek Lopez-DuBoff plans on utilizing his position to encourage the class of 2027 and beyond to participate in elections of all sorts.
The spread of news by mouth is rapidly being replaced with social media. The quick scroll through any social media app is bombarded with advertisements, news and opinions. Consumers are constantly absorbing information. To increase young voter participation, DuBoff said “Utilizing social media is something that’s going to be very impactful,” as social media continues to target younger generations.
“If there’s a voting post, we can repost on the ASUO Instagram; I will repost on my Instagram and I will share it with my friends,” DuBoff said.
Social media is a helpful tool for reaching large audiences, but sometimes the most effective way to inspire change is to get out on the street and talk to people. By petitioning, OSPIRG was victorious in banning single use plastics in the city of Eugene. “Petitions work. I know it seems like it’s kind of annoying to get flagged down on the street, but we got a styrofoam ban in Oregon because we got over 2,000 students to sign a piece of paper,” Moreno said.
OSPIRG also helped thousands of students register to vote during the 2020 election. This feat aided University of Oregon in becoming the champion of the PAC-12 Voting Challenge.
Voting is a privilege and tool to grant a voice to all. No matter one’s rank within a community, the voting system allows each eligible citizen to contribute. “We should be exercising that right [voting] because in a lot of places they don’t have the same right,” Moreno said.
Waiting in line at a poll on a rainy November morning sounds deterring. It’s understandable to see voting as a chore. “Just because it’s boring doesn’t mean it’s not important,” DuBoff said. If voting is recognized as a privilege rather than an obligation, it can become empowering.
