Political headquarters for the Johnson County Democratic and Republican Parties are stationed throughout Warrensburg. The Johnson County Missouri Democratic Headquarters is located at 103 South Holden St. and the Johnson County Republican Headquarters is located at 1202 South Maguire St. Both headquarters provide service and campaign opportunities for students at the University of Central Missouri.

“We sell Democratic merchandise for the election,” Secretary for the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee, Heather Wirsig, said. “But mostly we’re here to help voters and inform them about the election process, how to get involved, how to register to vote, information about candidates, sample ballots and amendments.”

Student volunteers help with these activities, along with campaigning for Democratic candidates.

“I’ve gotten to meet a lot of the people who are hoping to be in office, that’s very cool,” Senior Brandon Farris, President of UCM’s College Democrats and a volunteer for the Democratic headquarters, said.

At time of press, according to Missouri State Representative Candidate Brandon Phelps, the Republican headquarters location serves as a place to sell merchandise, hold meet-and-greets with candidates and to campaign. Student volunteers may help with any of these functions, depending on their interest. Phelps explained that some students’ experience in politics at the Republican headquarters have led to career opportunities later in life.

“We actually had a UCM College Republican member about six years ago. He was a senior here at UCM and he helped this party. I gave him a referral to someone in Governor Parson’s office, he did that for about a month, and next thing you know, he was off to Washington, D.C. with an internship,” Phelps said.

While both headquarters provide opportunities for students to get involved in politics, only a small number of students participate. Farris believes this is because students’ schedules are busy.

“Obviously, we’re all in college, and we’re trying to get our degrees, trying to live our lives, trying to work towards a career,” Farris said. “I’m usually the youngest person there by a solid 30 years. All the other people are usually retirees.”

While the Republican Headquarters has had student volunteers in the past, they have had none this year. Despite the lack of student involvement, representatives from both headquarters and student volunteers believe it is important for students to participate in politics and express their political beliefs.

“As a Democrat in a deeply red state, it’s just showing people that you’re not alone. If you believe these things, you don’t have to hide it. You shouldn’t be afraid to represent your beliefs,” Farris said.

Phelps also believes it is important for all people, regardless of their age, sex or political affiliation, to express their opinions.

“What makes any entity great, whether it’s a team, a business, a not-for-profit organization, a state, a country, is not any one person’s ideas, not two or three people’s ideas, but it is the culmination of everybody’s ideas put together,” Phelps said.

A third political group, the Conservative Grassroots Headquarters, is located at 506 North Maguire St. At the time of publication, they declined to comment.