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Washtenaw Community College student Kimberly Kozal was named to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson鈥檚 33-member Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force, which is being asked to make recommendations for improving voter engagement among young voters and college students.
Kozal, a 52-year-old resident of Whitmore Lake, doesn鈥檛 fit the mold of a traditional college student. But her interest in 鈥渋mproving voter engagement across all populations and every political party鈥� motivated her to apply for a spot on the task force. She has served as an election official in Green Oak Township for the past five years.
鈥淗igh voter turnout shows that Americans care and believe in the process,鈥� said the mother of three children. 鈥淢y youngest daughter will get to vote in her first elections in 2020. That鈥檚 so exciting to me, even if she doesn鈥檛 vote how I vote.鈥�
Kozal recently returned to college and is pursuing a . She hopes to transition to a government position or working for a non-profit organization.
The task force will meet three times this fall 鈥� beginning this Friday at Lansing Community College 鈥� with a goal of providing final recommendations to Benson鈥檚 office by late November. The participating students were selected from nearly 100 applicants and represent 31 communities and 23 institutions across the state.
鈥淚 am proud of the many men and women across the state who have stepped up to lead and inform our office on how to best engage students in our democracy,鈥� Benson said . 鈥淚 am confident with their insights and involvement we will develop a robust plan to break down existing barriers and ensure our elections are accessible to all.鈥�
Members of the task force will also work with the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office throughout 2020 as civic engagement liaisons to their respective campuses. Kozal said she鈥檚 been impressed with the efforts already taking place at 黑料网.
鈥満诹贤� is already doing great things to get students engaged in elections,鈥� Kozal said, noting the college鈥檚 partnerships with the and . 黑料网 was one of the first five institutions nationwide to join the TurboVote Engaged Community College (TECC) program.
鈥淭here have been some changes in Michigan that will affect the next votes 鈥� like no reason absentee voting and same-day registration to vote. 黑料网 is already preparing to get this important information out to students,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese changes should help more people get out and vote. I hope to share these ideas with the task force. It鈥檚 a very exciting time to be involved.鈥�
Tags: Kimberly Kozal, Vote, ousearch_News_2019