News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2018
Contact: Justyna.Krygowska@AndrewGoodman.org

(Upper Saddle River, NJ)—A group of Miami Dade College students, including Vote Everywhere Ambassadors Rebecca Diaz and Fiorenza Herrera Diaz, were successful Thursday night in securing two early-voting locations for their college community. The students brought the issue before the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners and Mayor Carlos Gimenez who reversed their previous decisions and approved early polling locations at Miami Dade College’s North and Kendall campuses.

This decision is the result of months of advocacy by students, higher education institutional leaders, and a coalition of local and national partners. Once Judge Mark Walker granted a preliminary injunction to allow early voting on college campuses in Florida during the 2018 midterms, The Andrew Goodman Foundation, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, took action to assist Vote Everywhere campuses and partners with getting the sites instated. “Access to early voting sites on campuses improves student access to voting,” says Karena Cronin, Vote Everywhere Program Director for The Andrew Goodman Foundation. “The Andrew Goodman Foundation not only supported coalition members with securing a site at Florida International University, but we also remained steadfast in our commitment to increasing student voter access at Miami Dade College – the largest higher education institution in the country and longtime Vote Everywhere Campus Partner.”

Together with the Miami Dade College administration and Vote Everywhere Ambassadors and alumni, the coalition held press conferences, wrote op-eds, and made pleas to government officials, in an effort to bring full and equal voting rights to students in Florida. As a result, over 100,000 Miami Dade College students will get to use their preferred method of voting right on their campuses during the November midterms.

“Access to early voting has been an ongoing fight for college students in Florida,” says The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s President David Goodman. “It was the student voices that made a huge difference in this case. We couldn’t be prouder of the dedication and leadership displayed by our Miami Dade College Vote Everywhere Ambassadors and alumni.”

While this is a moment to celebrate, it is also the beginning of a major outreach effort. Securing the early voting sites is just the first step in assuring student access to the ballot during the 2018 Midterm Elections. “Now that our Florida Vote Everywhere Campus Partners have secured their on-campus locations, our primary focus will be to assist them with GOTV efforts to educate students about the upcoming election and locations of their early voting sites,” says Cronin. “As we congratulate our Vote Everywhere teams at Miami Dade College on their victory, we are excited to continue working with them to prepare for the 2018 Midterm Elections.”

About The Andrew Goodman Foundation

Established to continue the legacy of Andrew Goodman, a civil rights worker murdered during Freedom Summer 1964, The Andrew Goodman Foundation partners with America’s colleges and universities through its Vote Everywhere program which provides student leaders with a platform to register and mobilize voters, organize campuses, and collaborate with their peers.

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