Oxford, Mississippi (September 28, 2022) — Oxford High School, The Lafayette County League of Women Voters, and the Ole Miss Center for Community Engagement partnered to host an informational session on the voting process and conduct an onsite voter drive for seniors enrolled in the College and Career Readiness class at OHS. The drive took place September 20, which was National Voter Registration Day, and 38 eligible seniors registered to vote the day of the event or in the days that followed.

Dr. Duncan Gray, the Director of Community and Workforce Development, said the drive is important because voting is a key part of being an active citizen, something the community has identified as being important through its Portrait of a Graduate.

“We all know the value of a vote, and it is important we educate our students on the process of registering to vote as well as the history of voting. It’s a great step toward developing more civic-minded students. The district identified registering to vote as one of the Life readiness indicators in Redefining Ready, and the drive is an action-oriented step we can take to assist seniors, many of whom indicated they knew very little about the voter registration process,” Gray said.

For the duration of the week after the drive, the OHS National Honor Society (NHS) set up tables for other seniors who were unable to register the day of the event. Noah Amidon, a senior in the NHS club and organizer of the drive, said it’s important to spend time on these types of programs.

Amidon explained, “I think it’s so critical to host these events because we have one of the lowest voting percentages in the country. Getting people to register to vote is the first step in combating this issue.”

The high school will host a quarterly drive and use the College and Career Readiness classes to facilitate the program. The next voter drive program will take place on October 25 at Oxford High School.