To magnify our impact on the November election, many of us are focusing on competitive congressional or senate races outside our district by donating money, writing postcards, or phone banking.
Here is another high impact task that’s close to home.
In central Illinois, the race in the 13th Congressional District of Illinois (IL13) is very close. IL13 includes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Illinois State University (ISU) campuses. In 2018, Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan almost flipped the district, losing by only 0.76 percent. This year Londrigan is running again.
What’s our connection? UIUC enrolls the most OPRF High School graduates of any school after Triton, according to 2006-2019 data, and ISU is 7th on that list; around 250 OPRF students were attending college in IL13 at any one time.The Fall 2020 enrollment numbers from UIUC alone say there are 243 enrolled students associated with OPRF zip codes.
In other words, our students represent about 12 percent or more of the margin of victory two years ago.
I propose we talk to our friends and neighbors and get out the vote of these 250-300 students in IL13.
For more information about voter registration and early voting at UIUC, here is a link to the Champaign County Clerk: tinyurl.com/champ-cc
Is your friend’s kid out of state? I’ve got you covered. Check if their campus is in a competitive race with this spreadsheet — tinyurl.com/campus-competitive-2020. I’ve included the county to help you check the voter registration requirements.
The 2020 election is too important to leave votes on the table, especially in swing districts and states. If you are the parent or friend of a college student, especially one eligible to vote in a competitive election, talk to them and get them to vote.
Frank Hansen
Oak Park
