Donuts and Democracy: How We Got Students Voting | Jhanvi Patel | TEDxOU

Jhanvi Patel discusses her experience as a civic engagement fellow with Oklahoma Votes during the 2024 presidential election, where she discovered that offering free food was an effective way to engage college students in voter registration. She challenges the assumption that young people don't care about politics, noting that college students have strong opinions on issues like climate change, mental health, and the economy, but face systemic barriers to participation. Oklahoma has the nation's lowest voter turnout, with 18-29 year-olds having the lowest participation rates.

Patel identifies three main categories of disengaged students: those who find the process too complicated (including out-of-state students who don't know their options), those who claim it's not relevant to their lives, and disillusioned students who understand civic engagement's power but feel repeatedly let down by the system. Her team developed targeted strategies for each group, including removing barriers by offering registration for all 50 states, handling absentee ballot requests, and providing notarization services.

To address relevance, they customized presentations for different student groups - discussing arts funding with fine arts students and NIL legislation with athletes. They maintained strict nonpartisanship while building relationships across campus. For disillusioned students, they created a social media campaign featuring student testimonials about why they vote, focusing on personal rather than political motivations. The organization ultimately helped about 9% of the student body register to vote, broke attendance records at events, and created a welcoming community regardless of political affiliation. Patel concludes that democracy fails not because people don't care, but because institutions don't meet people where they are.