On Tuesday, over 20 campus and community partners tabled around Tower Lawn to share resources on voting and civic engagement with students at the fifth annual SJSU Votes Festival.
The festival, held in celebration of National Voter Registration Day, offered attendees a chance to register to vote in the upcoming Nov. 4 Statewide Special Election and June 2, 2026 California Primary Election.
The festival is hosted by SJSU’s Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement and SJSU Votes, a non-partisan voter mobilization and education project housed under the institute.
Tablers ranged from field representatives of local elected officials to student clubs and political organizations.
Michelle Fernandez, co-chair of the Voter Services Committee at the League of Women Voters of San José/Santa Clara, said she was excited to meet students who had already registered to vote.
“It’s really exciting to hear things like, ‘Of course I’m registered.’ ” Fernandez said.
“These are challenging times but I think when we’re able to come out and talk to students about things that we care about and do it together, it’s always a win.”
Marnelli Canosa, health equity and outreach coordinator for LEAD Filipino and child and adolescent development alumna of SJSU, said she hoped to increase voter turnout among Filipino and Asian American Pacific Islander communities in Santa Clara County.
“We (Asian Americans) are playing a game of catch up because after being historically excluded, now we’re included and we don’t have the infrastructure to understand what’s going on in our government, whether that’s at the local or federal level,” Canosa said.
Tagalog speakers made up roughly 0.7% of all active registered voters in Santa Clara County, according to the most recent statistics published by the Registrar of Voters.
Canosa said outreach efforts like SJSU Votes help people get connected to the resources they need to become full participants in the political process.
“The language that’s used to talk about the propositions and bills can get really confusing, especially to the ordinary person who doesn’t have the time or mental capacity even to understand what’s going on,” Canosa said.
Angel Lopez, a forensic science and toxicology graduate student, said he stumbled upon the festival while on his way to class.
“Honestly, it’s a good way to get a snack,” Lopez said, “but it gives me so much information at each table that I don’t even think I’m in it for the snack anymore.”
He said volunteers at the League of Women Voters’ booth helped him get acquainted with California Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to temporarily bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission and draw new congressional district lines for 2026.
“I’m not well informed, but I’m trying to learn more, see what I can do to help out my community and maybe guarantee us a better future,” Lopez said.
Mary Currin-Percival, political science professor and director of SJSU Votes, said she saw a slightly smaller turnout at this year’s event than last year’s.
“It’s just a tiny bit quieter, probably because (it’s not a) presidential election, partially due to the heat,” Percival said.
Raymand Buyco, professor of history and president of the SJSU chapter of the California Faculty Association, performed at the festival with his band, RB3. He attributed the lower turnout to a less-than-ideal choice of location.
“I think because we weren’t on the (Ninth Street) Mall like we were last year – it was a bit more of an event in terms of the traffic coming through there – it’s a little bit quieter, being in this location, as opposed to the main thoroughfare.”
He said he hopes next year’s festival will be held in a location with greater visibility to students.
“(The Smith and Carlos lawn) is a good place,” Buyco said. “I guess my concern is less about the symbolism and more about the fact that we’re not in the middle of the students as they’re going from class to class.”
Buyco and his bandmates volunteer to perform for the festival every year.
“A concern I’ve had for a long time is that young people don’t vote. I’m sad,” Buyco said. “Voting is going to help play a role in your future, so we’d like to see more young people vote. That’s what this event is about.”
The last day to register to vote for the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 20.
