The UC Santa Cruz Government and Community Relations Office—which encourages everyone in the campus and local community to be informed, participate, and make their voice heard—was glad to learn that students, staff, and retirees were providing the critical community service of working at the polls for the 2024 election.
"We're grateful to these campus community members for volunteering their time to help others exercise their fundamental right to vote," said Melissa Whatley, executive director of Government and Community Relations. "In addition to providing this essential service, these students, staff, and retirees—who we call our campus Election Heroes—are also gaining invaluable experience and a first-hand look at democracy in action."
There is one in-person voting site on the main campus, at the Stevenson Event Center. On Monday morning, UC Santa Cruz student Anavi Deshmukh (Cowell '27, biomolecular engineering and bioinformatics) sat with Santa Cruz High School student Andres Tremblay as the two volunteered at the center.
"It's nice to see how many students are coming out to vote," said Deshmukh, noting the frequently large differences in voter turnout between young and older people.
Tremblay volunteered at the urging of his mom and because he thought he would enjoy it—and he was right.
"It's pretty fun," he said. "Nice people, fun process."
The Stevenson Event Center site accepts mail-in ballots. There is also in-person voting at the Silicon Valley Campus. Both sites are open Saturday through Tuesday, November 2–5.
Participating in democracy
For student volunteer Gianna Roza (Stevenson '27, global and community health), working at the main campus polling place is the fulfillment of a childhood yearning to vote and be involved in the democratic process.She would sit with her parents as they filled out their ballots, talking to them about the decisions they were making and who they had decided to vote for. Her mom would give her the "I Voted" sticker from her ballot. Roza said she has "at least six" of the stickers on her bookcase at home.
"I've been really lucky to have parents who have encouraged my participation in politics and in democracy and in my community in general," Roza said. "And so volunteering for the election as a poll worker kind of just made sense for me this year. And it's just a really nice way for me to give back to the community in general and also kind of get a behind-the-scenes look at the whole election while also participating in it for the first time."
Another student volunteer, Terra Alvarez (Oakes '27, politics and Latin American and Latino studies/education double major), became interested in politics in high school when she learned about the Chicano Movement of the 1940s–1970s and the importance of education to community empowerment.
"It's like, we need to stand up, we need to get our voices heard," Alvarez said. "So I'm really passionate about that."
When a friend told her about the opportunity to volunteer at the polling site, "I was like, 'Yep, sign me up,'" said Alvarez. "I'm really excited."
UC Santa Cruz staff member Sarah Kudela, an executive assistant in the Academic Affairs office, is also volunteering this year, as she has done since 2020.
"I started because it was a way I could help out during the pandemic and the 2020 election. I quickly got hooked, though," Kudela said. "It's just really fulfilling to be part of democracy, and fun to see all that goes into putting an election on, ensuring that everyone who is eligible to vote can vote."
Equal voting opportunity
Both Roza and Alvarez expected their volunteer service to be interesting, fulfilling, challenging, and long—some morning shifts begin at 6 a.m. or 8 a.m., and on Election Day, they won't be off until 9:30 p.m.But they expect a lot of voting at the site.
"Politics are everywhere, and I think social media has played a huge part in portraying the best and the worst of this day," said Alvarez. "So I think that definitely started a lot of passion, a lot more people educating themselves on what's going on, and I think that is what's going to bring them to the polls."
Roza sees poll workers' responsibility as ensuring that voting centers move smoothly enough that people can get in and out, and that there's equal opportunity for everybody to cast their vote.
"That's not something that I take lightly," she said. "There's that, on top of just how difficult the hours are and the work itself. So I don't expect it to be very easy, but I do feel really good about doing the work."
Alvarez felt excited about being able to help inform other voters about the various propositions.
"Not tell them who to vote for or what to vote for, but at least let them give them insight on it. Even my dad called me other day asking about the propositions," she said. "I'm glad that people can come to me and ask these questions, because I sometimes have answers."
'Everybody should vote'
For Roza, elections have been feeling increasingly more personal for the past few years."I think because I've been getting closer to voting age, and now I can vote and participate," she said. "But also just because the consequences seem to be looking more and more severe for each of the elections."
Each of the volunteers urged fellow citizens to participate in their government.
"Definitely everybody should vote," Alvarez said.
"Please vote," said Kudela. "Know your rights, too. California has made huge strides in making the vote easier."
She noted that voters can drop their ballot at any voting center in the state.
"Part of the fun of working at Stevenson is we get ballots returned from counties across California because our students come from all over," she said. "We send the ballots to the right county, and they are still counted into the totals."
Roza reflected on an AP government class she took last year that brought up the idea of political efficacy—citizens' belief that they have the ability to make change with their vote.
"It's really easy to look at your ballot as a young person and think, 'Older people are going to vote, so I don't have to.' Or it's very easy to think that your vote won't actually make a change, and so there's no point to voting," she said. "But I would really like to challenge members of my generation, and other generations too, to make a choice to develop a high political efficacy, because having strong political efficacy is a choice."
She wants members of her generation to believe that they're making a difference.
"Because I think if you do believe that you're making a difference," she said, "you will, and your vote will count."
More election information
• Voters may deposit their completed ballot in the official ballot drop box that has been installed in Quarry Plaza in front of Bay Tree Campus Store. If you have a mail ballot and are registered in Santa Cruz County, you can mail it before November 5 or hand it in at any polling place on Election Day.
• For information about voting, see the campus Election and Voter Information site.
Campus events
• The UCSC Institute for Social Transformation hosted the 2024 U.S. Elections Forum Series: Power, Politics, and Our Democracy. While the events have all already taken place, you can watch the event recordings.
Campus will host Communal Reflection & Healing Spaces Monday 11/4 through Wednesday 11/6 from 4–6 p.m. at Cowell Fireside Lounge and the Rachel Carson Red Room. Healing and mindfulness resources will be available. Open to all students.
