CLEVELAND, Ohio—Stepping into a voting booth for the very first time can be intimidating, confusing, and even scary for some. 

• Cuyahoga Community College is hosting 8 student-led voting registration events called “The Voting Experience” exhibit
• The interactive exhibit walks students through every part of the voting process, from registering to casting ballots
• Tri-C was designated a voter-friendly campus earlier this year

"I was scared at first, I did not know how it was, what to do, I was freaking out,” said Hajar Rouiha, democracy fellow.

That’s why Tri-C student Hajar Rouiha decided to become a democracy fellow with the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project, taking on the responsibility to educate and familiarize students with the election process in a fun and engaging way.

It's a multi-day event they call “The Voting Experience” exhibit. 

“How to vote, how to register, how to vote from home with an absentee ballot, we have a fake campus election going on and then we have Board of Elections here who are sort of simulating what it’s like to check in with a polling booth,” said Katie Montgomery, director of government relations, CCC.

Tri-C’s Director of Government Katie Montgomery says she’s happy to see students becoming more civically engaged and realizing that their voice and vote do count.

“The State of Ohio, in the last 5 years, 141 elections were decided by one vote or ended in a tie, so even though there’s 8 million voters in Ohio, the fact that your vote could be the difference, we think is crucial to share, students learning that fact migrate from my vote doesn’t count to I can’t wait to vote,” said Montgomery.

“There are issues outside of our country about people voting or something messing up the voting process, so I’m like, there’s a huge advantage here in America to vote and your vote does count, if you just go out and try,” said Rouiha.

Government community relations intern Robin Adelmann says she volunteers her time to "The Voting Experience" because the few minutes it takes to register someone to vote makes a major impact.

“I’ve only been here for an hour and we already have had 17 students, and I was just thinking that they are set to vote for the rest of their life, it’s not just for the 2019 election,” said Adelmann.

“The Voting Experience” will be traveling to all four of Tri-C’s campuses, with the final event coinciding with National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 24.

“My hope is that for everyone that we registered, they tell their friends, hey that was so easy, and they know what the form looks like and they’re like, hey I’m going to grab you this form, you do it too,” said Adelmann.

Campus Vote Project and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators designated Tri-C as a voter-friendly campus earlier this year for its ongoing work developing a culture of democratic engagement.