The San Jose State chapter of BridgeUSA, also known as BridgeSJSU, hosted a political speed-debating event, “Let’s Talk About Midterms!” Thursday in the Student Union to educate students before they vote in the U.S. General Election today.

BridgeUSA is a nonprofit organization that aims to create spaces for students to have constructive political conversations. The SJSU chapter began in October 2021.

The event was hosted alongside Students Against Mass Incarceration, a student organization that advocates against mass incarceration, and Democrats at SJSU, a student club that promotes democratic values. 

Sabrina Nabizada, BridgeSJSU president and political science junior, said statewide propositions and local offices that are up for election will have effects on the university community. 

“When you go out to vote, you’re electing officials who have your best interest in mind. That means they’re going to be voting for policies that are in your favor,” Nabizada said.

She said students should learn more about the propositions, especially the ones that are catered to education including Proposition 28. 

Proposition 28 would require a minimum source of annual funding for grades K-12 in public and charter schools to fund arts education programs, according to Ballotpedia, a nonprofit and nonpartisan political encyclopedia for U.S. politics.

“That one, I think should especially be paid more attention to by students because it does directly impact how much is given to art programs, things like that,” Nabizada said. “Currently, there’s not really much on there, especially because the funding for that is debated on state decisions or local decisions.” 

She said she acknowledges that some students don’t vote because it takes some time to research each proposition and who the candidates are.

“Voter turnout for the youth is super low,” Nabizada said. “The harm of that is that you’re going to have politicians in office who do not care about issues that you’re affected by, which is why you should be voting.” 

About 55% of voters between the ages 18-29 participated in the 2020 presidential election, which is a 11% increase from 2019, according to Statista, a German company that provides statistics on more than 80,000 topics. 

Sara Tapia-Silva, sociology senior and Students Against Mass Incarceration member, said this year’s midterm elections can make a big difference if people vote.

“I think that these events are really helpful because they’re an outlet for us to discuss and maybe there’s someone’s perspective that you probably didn’t think about or didn’t take when considering these prepositions,” she said. 

Tapia-Silva said one of the voting matters she is concerned about is Proposition 1 because she is a woman who wants to keep her rights on her body.

Proposition 1 supports amending the state constitution to prohibit interfering with or denying reproductive decisions, such as abortions or contraceptives, according to Ballotpedia.

Kat Adamson, sociology senior and Students Against Mass Incarceration member, said it’s important for students to be involved in their local government because they’re in charge of what affects their lives. 

Adamson said comprehensive breakdowns of each proposition can help students understand them better to help avoid the confusion of the wording.

Similar to Tapia-Silva, Adamson said she’s fearful of Proposition 1 not passing because having the right and protection of abortion in our constitution is important.

“I do think it’s a little confusing and a little controversial the way [Proposition 1 has] been worded,” she said. 

Adamson said she is also concerned about Proposition 31, which if passed, would put a ban against the sale of flavored tobacco products. 

“I think it’s important to try and protect minors because there are major, major health issues that can happen from vaping,” she said. “I know someone who’s had serious lung and heart issues and was hospitalized for a very long time [because of] excessive vaping that they started as a minor.” 

The deadline for in-person voting is today at 8 p.m., which can be accessed in the Event Center in Room 1035.

Mail-in ballots must also be postmarked by today.