The League of Women Voters in San Luis Obispo began their Student Vote Initiative this year, encouraging Cal Poly and Cuesta College students to vote. The project aims to teach college students how to register to vote, where to vote and how to be an informed voter.
In past years, Cal Poly was ahead of the Cal States for students registered to vote.
READ MORE: Cal Poly wins first place in Cal State voter registration competition
Student Vote Outreach Coordinator Kate McHugh is taking the lead on connecting with students on the importance of voting. McHugh is a 2026 Cal Poly political science alum, and her class curriculum covered elections. She identified a disconnect in voter awareness among non-political science students.
“I feel like a lot of students who study engineering or elsewhere don’t have that information brought up in class. I feel like a lot of it is an information barrier where students don’t know that they can re-register to vote in their college town,” McHugh said. “They don’t know that they can vote provisionally if they forgot to do so. They don’t know how to learn more about what’s on their ballot.”
McHugh wants students to know that their voice does matter. A vote is a first step for young voters to advocate for themselves.
“I believe that change happens incrementally, and I do think that voting and making your voice heard is a way to kind of move the needle in the right direction,” McHugh said. “As young people, statistically, we don’t show up at the polls, and that gives a lot of older adults the excuse that they don’t need to listen to the wants and needs of 18 to 24-year-olds because they don’t really vote.”
Student Vote SLO sets up information booths and works with student government teams on campus to show college students that their vote does matter, and they just need to cast it.
Business administration junior Uziel Diaz believes his peers may not vote due to a lack of information in classes.
“I’ve never had a class that has mentioned anything about voting,” Diaz said. “I think a big part of why students don’t vote is they might not know how to or have the resources”
He acknowledged how booths like the ones Student Vote SLO run could amplify the feeling that his voice could matter.
“Boothing events could emphasize the impact of my vote and why it matters,” Diaz said.
Cal Poly Democrats Vice President Sofia Spiropulo echoes that voter education is sparse in general education classes. Students in majors other than political science are only required to take California Constitution and Government (POLS 1111) or U.S. and California Government (POLS 1112). Student Vote SLO’s goal is to expand knowledge outside the classroom.
“A lot of people are just trying to get through it because it’s a GE rather than actually learning something from it,” Spiropulo said. “And I don’t think what those particular classes teach helps people understand how to register to vote, how to change your mailing address, how to find reputable sources to figure out who candidates are and what they stand for.”
Spiropulo highlighted the importance of this upcoming election for both in- and out-of-state students.
“If a student is a Cal Poly student, I highly recommend that they register to vote in California, or specifically in [San Luis Obispo] County, because you know they live here, and the policies that are being implemented are going to affect their day-to-day life and their education,” Spiropulo said.
Just like McHugh, Spiropulo sees change as something that begins with small steps, and voting is a good place to start.
“It’s important that students have a say in their day to day lives, and the way that you can have a say in it is by voting,” Spiropulo said.