Ahead of November's midterm elections, a registration drive aimed at young voters brought out an offer Miami Dade College students couldn't refuse: a hot slice.
Working with Engage Miami, a youth participation organization, the college hosted nonprofit Pizza To The Polls during National Voter Registration Day this week.
Since 2016, Pizza To The Polls has supplied over one million snacks across the nation to citizens engaging in civic participation, feeding both voters and prospective voters.
Chief Pizza Officer Lee Kornfeld said they would be sending pizzas to over 30 community colleges across 13 states this election season.
“This year, in addition to feeding people in long lines, we are doing events like this, here at Miami Dade, where we are working with nonpartisan nonprofit organizations on the ground, who are doing either voter education, voter registration or voter turnout,” said Kornfeld.
As well as pizza, the two-day event included a popcorn station, giant tic-tac-toe games and an inflatable basketball hoop, as well as other food trucks brought in by sponsors Levi's.
“Today we are celebrating 10 years of national voters registration day, and that is a national civic holiday where people everywhere go out to universities and community events to register as many people to vote,” said Nora Viñas, the Deputy Executive Director at Engage Miami.
There are some encouraging statistics. According to an analysis by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, the 2020 presidential election featured an 11-point increase in youth vote compared to 2016.
