Empowering the next generation of voters

By Emily Chaffins -

MIAMI | Nicholas Aquino-Guzman, a junior majoring in psychology at Florida International University, is “excited” to cast his vote for the first time in a presidential election this November. As a returning convert to the Catholic Church, he joined FIU’s campus ministry in November 2023. For Aquino-Guzman, voting is a powerful way to live out his faith. 

“If we want our country to be a beacon for Christ, we need our goals to be represented,” he said.

Aquino-Guzman was one of several members of the Catholic campus ministry who volunteered at the National Voter Registration Day event Sept. 17, 2024, in the Ernest R. Graham Center at FIU’s main campus in Miami. This nonpartisan drive to encourage students to register to vote was an initiative of the National Voter Registration Day organization, and was organized at FIU by Agatha Caraballo, director of the Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership and teaching professor of public policy and administration.

The event included pizza, donuts, giveaways, DJ music, and Honors College credits to encourage students to register to vote. Caraballo explained, “We don’t tell who to vote for. The most important thing is to make sure they are registered. They can educate themselves on the issues.”

Univision, represented by Unidos US, and the Archdiocese of Miami, represented by members of campus ministry, worked together to help voters register. Many other organizations also took part in the effort, including Miami-Dade County; Engage Florida; FIU’s Division of Academic and Student Affairs and Center for Leadership and Service; the FIU Honors College; and the FIU Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.

The Archdiocese of Miami partnered with Univision to organize numerous voter registration drives “to highlight its commitment to civic engagement and ensure that communities are informed and prepared to participate in the electoral process,” said Michelle Jurado, director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Miami. “Such initiatives can help increase voter turnout and ensure that more voices are heard in the upcoming elections.”

Father Luis Pavon, parochial vicar at St. Agatha Parish and chaplain of campus ministry, spoke of the need for Catholics “to exercise our civic responsibility, to help shape the world in conformity with our beliefs and our values.” Father Pavon added that it is important to encourage students to vote: “It affects their future –not only our present– but also our future.” 

Separately from the voter registration event, campus ministry members Aquino-Guzman and Brandon Vega walked around campus distributing the Archdiocese of Miami’s “Vote NO on 4” postcards to educate students about Amendment 4, which will be on the ballot this November. Amendment 4 would alter the Florida State Constitution and enable late-term abortions, “making Florida one of the most pro-abortion states in the nation,” according to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FLCCB). Minors would be able to obtain abortions without parental consent. 

Aquino-Guzman highlighted the importance of pro-life values in the voting booth: “As Catholics, the issue of abortion is important: the right to life, the protection of life as sacred.” 

In addition to the FIU event, other voter registration drives organized by the Archdiocese of Miami and Univision were held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral,  St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, St. Augustine Parish in Coral Gables, and Epiphany Parish in Miami.