Votes & Vibez brought candidates and community members together at Carolyn Crayton Park to address Macon-Bibb’s voter turnout problem Sept. 19. Rather than speeches or a formal debate, the League of Women Voters hosted this nonpartisan, family-friendly event so attendees could speak to candidates in a relaxed one-on-one conversation.
“We wanted to give folks the opportunity to meet the candidates,” said Marty Koplin, the President of the League of Women Voters. “If you have real questions that you want to ask a candidate, those events don’t really give you a chance.”
The League of Women Voters, alongside its voter registration booth, partnered with Macon Rising to turn its focus to concerns about voter turnout in Bibb County. In the May primary election, 25% of registered voters in Bibb County cast a ballot, according to The Macon Telegraph. That number dropped to 13% during the June primary runoff.
“The League of Women Voters is really good at getting people registered to vote," said She Keene at the event. Keene, a Mercer alumna and co-founder of Macon Rising, said the current voter turnouts in Macon are "disappointing,” but events like these will hopefully inspire some new voters.
Throughout the event, attendees were engaged in conversation with candidates including Josh McLaurin, Sheila Edwards, Dr. Lydia Powell and Eric Wilson. Younger attendees had their own opportunity to engage in civic participation through a kids’ voting booth hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha’s graduate chapter.
AKA’s president Marqueta Hall said the organization aimed to provide kids a space to engage while parents listened to the candidates.
“Many of us remember going to the election booth with our parents when we were growing up and how important that was,” Hall said.
The focus on engaging young people extended beyond the kids’ voting booth, as many candidates discussed the role of college students and young voters in the upcoming election.
Lydia Powell, the Democratic candidate running for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools, said that a former campaign manager discouraged her from spending resources on younger voters because, they argued, college students do not vote.
“They may not vote – and we can see those statistics – but it’s not because they don’t care,” Powell explained. “They care so much that they are looking at a broken system and they are not participating in that broken system.”
Eric Wilson, the Republican candidate for Georgia House District 145, addressed Mercer students.
“Mercer students are very bright individuals, and they’re informed, and I think they play an important part in this and every election,” Wilson said. “They need to let their voice be heard and not undervalue the importance of their vote because it does matter.”
Organizers for Votes and Vibez said involvement doesn’t have to end with voting.
Koplin encouraged Mercer students to join the League of Women Voters in their next meeting, held at Wesleyan College on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m., where they will be discussing data centers with the community.
“There’s lots of ways to get engaged,” Keene said. She and Koplin encouraged students to connect with Macon Rising or the League of Women Voters through email or social media.
For Powell, getting young people involved, even beyond voting, means making sure they have a place in the decisions that will shape their future.
“You’re going to be living in someone else’s world,” said Powell. “If you want it to be your world, you have to have a seat at the table.”
