a bill

1. THE UNIVERSITY PARK UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATION
The Pennsylvania State University
16th Assembly
2021-2022 Session
Bill #14-16
October 27th
, 2021
Be it decided by the Assembly of Student Representatives,
having been brought to the floor by a vote of two-thirds (2/3rds),
a
a
BILL
Funding 2021 PSU Votes Municipal Election Drive
Nature of the Situation:
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The municipal General Election is Tuesday, November 2, where voters will cast their ballot for
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local government. Across the US, voter turnout in local elections is consistently low and
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unrepresentative of community demographics, and young people historically vote at lower rates
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than older generations.12
In 2019’s municipal elections, only 30.5% of eligible voters in Centre
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County participated.3
Millennials and Gen Z make up the largest share of eligible voters in the
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US, meaning that their participation in elections has the biggest influence of any generation.
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Local elections have a profound impact in the community, and given that State College is a
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college town, it is imperative that students are aware of and excited to participate in the
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municipal election.
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Despite low student voter participation across US college campuses, Penn State has been named
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as one of Washington Monthly’s 2021 Best Colleges for Student Voting because of its work to
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encourage students to vote in each election.4
It is essential that we uphold this title and continue
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our efforts in voter participation for the upcoming municipal election.
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1
https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/ncr-article/increasing-voter-turnout-in-local-elections/
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https://www.campusvoteproject.org/why-student-voters-matter
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https://centrecountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12793/2019-Municipal-Accumulated-Results?bidId=
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https://news.psu.edu/story/672148/2021/10/08/penn-state-makes-washington-monthlys-2021-best-colleges-
student-voting

2. Recommended Course of Action:
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In an effort to increase student voter turnout and voter education, the University Park
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Undergraduate Association (UPUA), on behalf of the University Park undergraduate student
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body, shall fund the 2021 PSU Votes Municipal Election Drive for the amount of $437.
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This will be a two day event hosted inside the HUB-Robeson Center on Monday, November 1
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and Tuesday, November 2. During this, UPUA representatives and students from additional
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RSOs will be passing out UPUA voter guides and answering questions about the election. There
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will also be a Berkey Creamery cart on the day of the election to serve as a means to garner
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student interaction and excitement.
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PSU Votes Municipal Election Drive
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Item Cost Quantity Total
Creamery cart (daily fee) $100.00 1 $100.00
6 3-gals ice cream tubs $45.00 6 $270
3 100-ct. spoons $5.00 3 $15.00
3 100-ct. dishes $10.00 3 $30.00
20 gloves $0.10 20 $2.00
2-pack napkins $10.00 2 $20.00
Total $437.00
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Designation for Project from UPUA Budget Policy: $3,000
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The Governmental Affairs committee is using $437 of the $300 remaining in the PSU Votes
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allocation. The rest of the PSU Votes allocation consists of the SoftEdge campaign which was
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moved from Assembly Discretionary to PSU Votes but has been used for other advocacy than
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PSU Votes.
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Amount remaining in Type-40: $111,850.00
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Respectfully submitted,
Lakyn Meeder
At-Large Representative
Chair of the Committee on Governmental
Affairs
Sam Ajah
At-Large Representative
Vice Chair of the Committee on
Governmental Affairs
Assembly Vote: 36/0/0

3. Speaker of the Assembly ________________________________________________
President of the Student Body ________________________________________________
The University Park Undergraduate Association