The Oakland University chapter of For Michigan, a statewide nonprofit voter registration and awareness group, is continuing student outreach efforts this fall. In the absence of high-profile national races this year, the group is drawing attention to upcoming local and municipal election preparedness among students.
Founded in 2024, the OU branch has since used social media campaigns, classroom discussions and booths in the Oakland Center to encourage students to register. Campus organizer Rylan Smith said the group’s aim is to show students that their participation is essential to Michigan’s political landscape.
“This state has over 400,000 college students,” Smith said. “It’s a hypercompetitive swing state. Here at OU, where anyone who lives on campus is in a swing district for the congressional election, young people’s voices could not matter more.”
Smith said the organization also works to inform students about a range of local races both within and beyond Oakland County. “If they live on campus, there are plenty of elections in Auburn Hills and Rochester, Rochester Hills,” he said. “Say they’re a commuter, there are other local races going on, things like school board, library board, all around the area.”
OU For Michigan secretary Autumn Baker said students who commute from different areas are tied to multiple districts and local issues, and that this makes awareness especially important for OU’s student body. “There are so many commuters, a lot of different districts and local issues to be aware of,” Baker said. “We’re trying to make the conversation easier and get everybody wanting to know more about the local issues.”
Smith said that OU For Michigan’s approach to outreach is multifaceted. Professors have asked members to walk students through the registration form during class talks. “There are some discussions we’ve had where some of the Greek life sororities and fraternities want us to come in, speak to their members, their brothers and sisters, and work toward getting them to try to register as well,” he said.
Booths on campus feature small prize giveaways, informal surveys and other awareness efforts. He added that the group is planning small events, such as keychain making, to make its booths more approachable. “We try to make it fun and engaging,” Smith said. “We try to be conversational so people feel more welcome to have these discussions.”
Social media engagement is another element of voting promotion strategy. The OU branch manages its own Instagram and contributes content to For Michigan’s statewide TikTok. Smith said every branch also operates location-specific social media pages on campuses across the state. Some students, according to Baker, have offered feedback and expressed appreciation for the information through the group’s social media accounts.
The group reports significantly higher registration numbers this fall compared with last year. “We’ve had more registrations in one day than we did in the last year, which was a much bigger year,” Baker said.
Smith acknowledged that a certain hesitancy to engage remains among many students, but open communication helps to address the topic. “A lot of people feel intimidated to have political discussions, especially freshmen who are new on campus for the first time,” he said. “Once someone stops and engages with us, they are always really quick to open up.”
“We’re just trying to change the conversation to make it more about the voters themselves,” Baker said. “It’s just about trying to reach them.”
In Michigan, general elections for local and municipal offices are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.
OU For Michigan hosts planning meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Oakland Center, Room 125. The group also operates booths in the OC every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each week and posts reminders and announcements on Instagram, inviting students to participate in local elections as actively as they would in national ones.
