UB alumna channels student-voter buy-in

On a perfect late-summer day, amid the enthusiasm and energy of Thursday’s Experience UB fair along the spine opposite the Student Union, UB students stepped up to register to vote in this year’s election, guided by an alumna whose job is to protect the integrity of elections.

“They’re genuinely interested,” said Christy A. McCormick, one of four commissioners serving on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent, bipartisan group charged with helping Americans vote.

“It’s great to see their enthusiasm for voting this year.”

Dressed in UB blue and wearing a UB pin as she greeted students walking up to the table where they could register to vote in the Nov. 5 election, McCormick said the campus was different than during her last visit a decade ago. The activity around the Student Union was new, she said, and the campus has become dramatically more diversified and international.

The turnout at the table — clearly a popular destination among the Experience UB kiosks, where those who successfully answered a question at the Spin-to-Win wheel won a complimentary UB election cookie — backed up McCormick’s optimism.

Felix Warrington, 18, a freshman architecture major, said his ability to vote signaled an expression of his “new independence” away from his Rochester home, and something that just “sounded cool.”

“I’m in college now. I have a new privilege,” said Warrington. “Throughout high school, you grow up seeing ‘register now, register now’ or ‘I just voted’ stickers everywhere. It’s a prominent thing in the world. It’s really interesting everyone wants you to do it. I feel voting is very important. It’s a great thing.”

Ethan Britton, also 18, another walk-on to the voter registration festivities, echoed McCormick’s encouraging observations while meeting students outside Baldy Hall.

“Voting is one of the founding principles of America,” said Britton, a freshman aerospace engineering major. “The founding fathers worked hard to make their government system where everyone can have a say. It’s kind of a disgrace not to.”

Flying to Buffalo from her home in Los Angeles, McCormick had a full day on campus. After meeting students at Experience UB, she lectured in a political science class in the Natural Sciences Complex. Later, she took part in a panel discussion on election integrity and misinformation in the Center for the Arts.

“I think it’s very important for the young generations to be voting,” said McCormick. “The future of their country is in their hands. So we need to get them involved. We need to get them to vote. We need to give them a voice.

“There is a lot for them to be interested in,” she said. “When it comes to student loans, all kinds of policies. How elections work. Voter ID. Accessibility. Students are very engaged.”

As far as confidence in election results, McCormick said she encourages students to volunteer so they can see how things actually work.

“That will give them confidence in the results,” she said. “They can see all the procedures election take to make sure the election is safe and secure.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree from UB and her law degree from George Mason University School of Law, McCormick in 2014 was nominated as a commissioner to the Election Assistance Commission by then-President Barack Obama. She was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate.

She previously served as a senior trial attorney prosecuting discrimination violations of federal voting statutes in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). While with the DOJ, she also helped oversee Iraqi national elections from 2009-10.

Her UB appearance came about when the public relations officer for the Election Assistance Commission started looking for outreach opportunities.

“He asked us where we all graduated from,” McCormick said. “He’s been contacting colleges and universities for us to come back to our schools and do outreach.”

At the end of the day, 52 students had registered to vote, 44 absentee ballots were handed out and more than 275 students stopped by the table, according to R.J. Haq, assistant director of civic engagement in Student Life and chair of the UB Votes committee.

“Christy McCormick,” Haq said, “was amazing with the students.”

He noted that an email announcing UB’s special Nov. 5 polling location in the Center for Tomorrow was sent to more than 24,000 students.