With a presidential election on the horizon and political advertisements coming up on everyone’s social media pages, politics and voting have become the forefront of many conversations. This is the first major presidential election that many college students have been able to vote in and with that can come a lot of emotions and issues with the whole process.
Voting for college students, especially those who do not live close by, can be more difficult. It involves more than just registering to vote, because many college students are also applying for an absentee ballot and filling it out in time for it to count. The date for absentee ballots iis sooner than the actual voting day in most states. Some may not even know that they can request an absentee ballot if they are not in their voting district on election day. Additionally, even without specific time-related restrictions, students have a multitude of reasons to vote or not vote in the upcoming election.
“To me, the importance of voting is getting your voice out,” Sophomore and Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) office assistant McKenzie Laity said. ‘A lot of people think that their vote doesn’t matter because you’re one person among this large mass of people, but how I think about voting is like you’re voting for the people that can’t. I’m trying to get people to remember that their vote is important not only for themselves but for other people who can’t share their voices.”
“I am voting in the upcoming election because as a woman, it’s important for me to defend my own rights, and the rights of women who cannot speak up for themselves. I vote to see a better future for myself and future generations,” Junior Em Clark said.
On campus, multiple political groups are represented through the Elizabethtown College Republicans, the Elizabethtown College Democrats and the Young Democratic Socialists of America. Even if one is not a member of those groups officially, they can always engage with the events those clubs put on related to their cause and party affiliation.
“It is helpful to join groups that have similar ideals to you because then you realize how much your vote has an impact and how many other people alongside you will impact the overall turnout,” Laity said.
For those interested in voting in the upcoming election on Nov. 5 but have not gotten around to registering to vote in-person or through mail, there is still time to register through online portals or through forms that the state will send out in the mail. Vote.org has each of the individual deadlines for each state for voting in-person, through mail or online voting in states where that is available. Since a lot of college students do not live in their voting district, absentee ballots are typically given out to the student’s campus address and can be mailed out from there as well through mail services. For students who do live near their voting district, campus vans often run to drive people to the polls for those who do not have access to a car on campus, so a lot of the restrictions around voting are helped by campus resources. Additional information and concerns can also be directed to the CCCE through their email civic@etown.edu. The CCCE also has voter registration tables almost every week now in the Baugher Student Center (BSC) to assist with information about registration and requesting an absentee ballot. For those who don’t want to directly reach out but still want key information, the CCCE’s instagram also has a linktree which contains the “civic hub” which holds information about the candidates and voting process.
