One ride, one vote: Miami University’s democracy bus

Voting can be time-consuming and stressful for college students with hectic schedules. To reduce stress, Mollie Duffy, a junior majoring in public administration at Miami University, has organized a “Democracy Bus” to transport students.

The First Student Charter Bus will depart from Armstrong Student Center at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, to bring students to the Butler County Board of Elections. Students from Ohio can vote early in person while out-of-state students will be able to place their absentee votes in the ballot box.

Also on the bus will be a five-person German film crew, filming for an upcoming documentary showcasing student perspectives on democracy in America.

ARD, a German broadcasting company, first contacted Duffy about being featured in their documentary through her engagement with Civic Influencers, a nonprofit organization that organizes Gen Z to vote.

“It is really cool to be a part of such a diverse range of people who care about democracy so I’m really excited about it,” Duffy said.

Duffy is also a civic engagement fellow at Miami’s Wilks Institute for Leadership and Service. She used statistics about how many Miami students vote on election day and the barriers they face to discover that transportation to polling centers is crucial.

Her interest in facilitating student voting arose in April when Ohio House Bill 458 was passed requiring stricter photo identification.

“I decided to use this opportunity as a transportation vehicle to bus students from Miami to the Board of Elections to vote early as a way to combat the barrier and educate students on how they can vote nowadays in light of the new voting laws,” Duffy said.

In April, Duffy pitched her Democracy Bus idea “Shark Tank” style to the Women’s Giving Circle and was granted $7,050. The funding will pay for student transportation for the next three elections: Nov. 7, 2023, when Issues 1 and 2 are on the ballot, March 19, 2024 for primary elections and Nov. 5, 2024 for the presidential election.

Junior Evelyn Morrison signed up for the Democracy Bus trip because she doesn’t have transportation on campus and recalled feeling stressed during her previous experience with absentee voting.

“I’ll get to go with other people who are voting and it’ll be an exciting experience,” Morrison said. “I feel very proud and it's a privilege to be able to vote in this country.”

Duffy’s planning has been a dual process of educating and marketing to get students on the bus. She has spent a lot of her time doing interviews and creating posters, as well as emailing a list of names from the Board of Elections who are registered to vote from districts six, seven, 11 and 12 at the Marcum Conference Center.

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Malia Kelly, a Miami senior who signed up for the bus trip, is grateful for the Democracy Bus because it eases some of the restrictions that students face when they are voting away from home. She said the rise of authoritarian governments worldwide was a driving factor behind her support for the initiative.

“I think that if more students don’t advocate for democracy and continue to participate in elections, we might not have that democracy or the right to partake in local and higher elections in the future,” Kelly said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing students band together for the initiative and support democracy.”

mathurs3@miamioh.edu