Class of 2023: Jonah Perrin on Four Years of Helping Duke Votes

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Jonah Perrin

Perrin, who majored in political science with minors in philosophy and Spanish, spent the last four years working with , a non-partisan, student-led organization that aims to register, educate and mobilize the Duke community to vote. Most recently he served as its chair.

鈥淒uke Votes is a special part of Duke, it鈥檚 a great way to organize everyone who is committed to this cause,鈥 says Perrin. 鈥淲e are lucky to have administration support on this and it鈥檚 exciting to see the student impact and effort on things that matter so much.鈥

Jonah Perrin helps a student register to vote during the pandemic at a Duke Votes table.
Jonah Perrin helps a student register to vote during the pandemic at a Duke Votes table.

For his efforts, Perrin recently was recognized by the All In Campus Democracy Challenge for going above and beyond to advance nonpartisan student voter registration, education, and turnout efforts in their communities.

Getting students to the polls is no easy challenge says Perrin. Particularly in states where voter access is being restricted.

鈥淚t takes a lot of activism and work on college campuses to keep that access open. Every year we fight to keep our election site open because we know that if it gets moved off Duke鈥檚 campus by the state or county, it is harder for students to vote because a lot of them don鈥檛 have cars,鈥 he says.

While he is passionate about politics, Perrin doesn鈥檛 plan to run for office.

鈥淚 prefer to work behind the scenes. I enjoy the mobilization aspect and policy analysis,鈥 he says.

This summer, he plans to go to Baltimore where his family recently moved and relax after four years of hard work.

鈥淚 have a real appreciation and love for North Carolina and that鈥檚 where a lot of my experience has been. I am torn between working here or working in DC. "I'm still trying to see where I can be the most helpful," he says.

As Perrin prepares to graduate, he has this advice for his lower classmen: 鈥淢eet as many people as you can. There are a lot of people who can be amazing friends and counselors to you and those connections will be very helpful. Live your life to its fullest in college because it鈥檚 an amazing time.鈥