By Jose Garcia

Staff Writer

IGNITE helped students prepare to punch the ballot last month during its voter registration drive.

Brookhaven College’s IGNITE club set up a voter registration booth in K Building Jan. 25-29 to give students the opportunity to register to vote.

Rachel Jessie, president of IGNITE, and Nicki Elliott, vice president, operated the booth. They said their objective was to get as many people registered as possible by Feb. 1. the deadline for the March primaries.

Both Jessie and Elliott said they understood most students do not care about the elections, and their job is not to force people to vote. However, they enjoy showing students the importance of voting and why everyone’s vote matters.

Elliot said students need to think about how their votes will affect change.

“I’ve actually heard recently of Hispanic workers that have been here for 20 years. They can get their citizenship but are not going through with it because they are so upset with the political landscape,” she said.

Jessie said she believes some students are not sure who they will vote for, leading them to be discouraged with the whole process.

She said when she visits classes, she tells the class to register to vote. Even if they do not know who they plan to vote for, they will be able to vote when the time comes.

Jacqueline Silveira, a student, said she is excited to vote for the first time and that her vote counts.

Although she is still undecided on who to vote for, Silveira does know what she is looking for in a candidate. “[I am looking for] a president that benefits all of us and somehow helps us all, not just some people,” she said.

Silveira is one of the more than 100 people Jessie and Elliott have registered.

Students who did not register for the primaries can still register later for the presidential election.

IGNITE plans to set up more booths and visit classes throughout the semester and into the beginning of Fall 2016. They said they hope to register 1,000 voters by the presidential election in November.

-Editor’s Note: Oct. 11 is the deadline to register to vote for the Uniform Election on Nov. 8. Get your application to register to vote on votetexas. gov or dallascountyvotes.org.