Preserving Democracy: GPB asks college students about voting plans and democracy

In partnership with WNET for the nonpartisan Preserving Democracy project's "Ready to Vote" social media campaign, Georgia Public Broadcasting interviewed students from Berry College in Rome, Ga., and Georgia Tech in Atlanta about their plans to vote and their thoughts on democracy ahead of the election.

Several of the students, including Georgia Tech student Mirabelle Havette, believe that democracy is having a choice in your government when it comes to voting.

"Democracy to me means everybody being able to have an opinion in how they're governed," she said. "It ends up being the majority, but it's good because both sides get to say what they want to say, and I think that's important because you're able to see both ends, and it creates more of a medium instead of a divide biasing both of those sides."

Others, like Berry College student Reese Chatman, say voting is important for democracy because people have historically fought for others to be able to vote in this country.

"I'm planning on voting because I feel like it's my civic responsibility," he said. "There's people that have put their lives on the line for me to have this right and I feel like I would be squandering that if I chose not to vote."

Students were asked about their voter registration status and if they had a voting plan, including where their voting precincts were, where they planned to vote, and how they were to vote (in-person, mail-in ballot, etc.).

Out-of-state students, such as Berry College senior Cinch Smith, are voting using mail-in ballots to participate in democracy.

"I'm actually a registered voter in Arizona, so I'm getting my ballot mailed to me as we speak. Hopefully, it arrives in the next few days," he said. "I think it's really important to vote to exercise your freedoms — it's a privilege to be able to do this, and it helps you engage in a proper democracy."

Watch the interviews below to hear more from students about what democracy means to them, their voting plan, and more.