With the 2024 Presidential Election quickly approaching, it’s likely you’ve seen or been approached by canvassers throughout the city ensuring you are registered to vote. One of those individuals is junior theater arts major Leandro Bilello-Rodriguez, who has devoted a large portion of his work to making sure his fellow Point Park students are prepared to cast their ballots this November.
Working with the South Side branch of the organization Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE), Bilello-Rodriguez operates as a campus liaison of sorts, bringing the nonprofit’s initiative directly to students.
“Specifically, [ACE] really wants me here on campus because a lot of students travel from other states.” Billelo-Rodriguez said. “Since we are a swing state, it’s very important for people to register to vote here, because we could be a deciding factor.”
Bilello-Rodriguez decided to join ACE recently after receiving a flier on the street from one of their canvassers.
“I’d been wanting to get a job like that, and I’m also interested in politics and stuff, so I thought it would be the perfect mix,” Bilello-Rodriguez said.
Bilello-Rodriguez has utilized his unique position to spread the word around campus through collaboration with Point Park’s social media and positioning himself in areas of high student traffic such as Village Park.
He also had registration materials available at a campus watch party for the recent Presidential Debate.
“The main registrations that I get are people that are either freshly 18 or people that are registered to vote in other states that want to vote here in PA,” Bilello-Rodriguez said.
Beyond these types of registrations, Bilello-Rodriguez went on to explain he can also help students change their registration address, declare or switch political parties or apply for a mail-in ballot.
Bilello-Rodriguez explained the importance of initiatives like this leading up to the election, as a significant portion of the people he encounters have never received proper information on how to register to vote.
“You’d be surprised how many people come up to me and [say] ‘I have no idea how to register to vote, and it’s so complicated online,’…it’s really important to have somebody there with you to walk you through the steps,” Bilello-Rodriguez said.
Bilello-Rodriguez plans to continue his student outreach in the weeks leading up to the election, including potentially collaborating with other student organizations promoting voter registration.
More information about ACE and their other initiatives including climate education can be found on their website.
