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Syracuse University students are working with local and national political campaigns in anticipation of the 2020 election.

For central New York, the general election will include several congressional races as well as the presidential race. With a little over a week remaining until Election Day, students told The Daily Orange that working on campaigns has helped them give back to their communities and educate others on the importance of voting.

Hailey Schector, a senior political science and citizenship and civic engagement major, heard about an opportunity to work with the Dana Balter campaign in her constitutional law class.

“I was looking for something to fill my time a little bit because I found that I had a lot of free time that I could make a difference with,” Schector said. “This was a good campaign for me.”

Balter, who previously was a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is the Democratic candidate in the race for New York state’s 24th Congressional District. She is running against Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus), a former federal prosecutor who is pursuing his fourth term in Congress.

Katko’s campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment about whether SU students were helping with his campaign.

Lily Biagi, a junior political science major, also works for the Balter campaign. Biagi learned about opportunities to become involved in the campaign from social media. She now spends time calling voters in the rural areas in the district, including Cayuga and Wayne counties.

She also organizes phone banks and researches social media strategies for the campaign, Biagi said.

“I have been calling a lot of voters, reminding them to vote,” she said.

Students for Biden, an SU student-run organization, has been organizing phone banks to campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in swing states, said Amanda Byrne, a sophomore and one of five executive board members for Students for Biden. The group, sponsored by SU College Democrats, meets every Monday to call voters.

Students for Biden has also partnered with several other organizations, including the Democratic National Committee and Balter’s campaign, Byrne said.

“All of our phone banks are casual. Anyone is welcome to drop in,” Byrne said. “We call into swing states, and we’re trying to turn the election blue for this year.”

In her role, Byrne helps organize and take attendance at phone banks and communicates with New York Students for Biden. She encouraged students to do their research before voting.

“Everyone should check on Vote.org where their closest ballot box is,” Byrne said. “I encourage everyone to keep in mind the policies that really affect our generation.”

Both Byrne and Biagi encouraged all SU students to vote.

“Your vote matters,” Biagi said. “Get involved and do your research and just vote.”

Published on October 25, 2020 at 11:01 pm

Contact Mira: mlberenb@syr.edu