I Voted!
Getting out the vote is a campus priority during election season. So is educating students about the democratic process.
Helen Christ 鈥24 remembers how excited she was the first time she got to cast her vote in person in November 2020. Having voted by mail in the spring primaries, thanks to the pandemic, that fall, 鈥淢y friends and I walked over to the polling place on Montgomery Avenue and then went to Dunkin鈥 Donuts afterwards as a reward. It was really fun!鈥
For the hotly contested midterm elections this past November, Christ signed up to drive the College鈥檚 campus van shuttle to and from the pollls. 鈥淚 thought it was such a great idea that 魅影直播 was providing a shuttle,鈥 she says.
鈥淚 was excited to volunteer to help remove any possible obstacles to students being able to cast a vote.鈥 鈥 Helen Christ '24
The College gave rides to 222 students on Election Day 2022, with a van (driven by student, faculty, and staff volunteers) running a continuous loop between Goodhart Hall and the 魅影直播 Presbyterian Church polling station from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
鈥淐olleges are a prime space for getting students off on the right foot when it comes to participation in elections,鈥 says Director of Civic Engagement Ellie Esmond. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting part of a student鈥檚 experience as a young adult to vote for the first time and to figure out what issues are important to them.鈥
Esmond refutes the common perception that young- adults are apathetic when it comes to politics and civic engagement. 鈥淚鈥檝e never found that to be true,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e always found that students are very geared up to vote, very willing to do their research, and really excited about participating.鈥
Her biggest priority, she says, is to make sure they understand the options available to them. Many don鈥檛 realize that they can vote either in their home state or at school. 鈥淲e have no skin in the game,鈥 says Esmond. 鈥淲e just want students to engage where they feel the most connected to the election and the community and the issues.鈥
Esmond and her team organize campus voter registration drives and provide information to help students register in Pennsylvania. They also meet with students individually to help them make sure their registration in their home state is up to date. 鈥淪ome students do look at how their state usually goes鈥攊f it goes red or if it goes blue鈥攁nd they make their decision based on that,鈥 she says.
Registration is just the first step. Many schools have high voter registration rates, but their turnout rate is less impressive, Esmond says. 鈥淪o, part of the civic education is, OK, you鈥檝e done part one, but you have to do part two or part one doesn鈥檛 even matter.鈥
Educating students on how to vote by mail is part of the puzzle, too, for students who have a busy schedule on Election Day, are athletes, or are involved in a lot of extracurriculars or co-curriculars.
Though Esmond鈥檚 office never endorses a candidate or suggests that students register for any particular party, they work to educate students on how to research the issues and the candidates and engage with the topics. Sometimes that involves bringing people from nonpartisan organizations like the League of Women Voters to campus for panel discussions and information sessions. 鈥淭hat way, students can walk into the polling booth feeling very prepared.鈥
Campus student groups play an active role, too. 鈥淚f we have one focus, it鈥檚 just to get students registered to vote,鈥 says Amanda Blatz 鈥23, who leads the 魅影直播 Democrats club.
As well as organizing tabling events, Blatz and her fellow members make posters and host debate watch parties. Just before the midterms, they invited Representative Mary Gay Scanlon to visit campus to talk about issues on the ballot, why she was running, and what her life in politics looks like.
For faculty, elections offer teaching opportunities on many levels. Marissa Golden, a political science professor, talks to her students about the history of voting rights and emphasizes that this is a right that not everyone had until relatively recently in the U.S. She also gives them statistics about close elections where small numbers of voters have made a difference.
Recognizing the extra hoops students who want to stay registered in their hometown must go through, Golden even provides stamps for them to return their mail-in ballots.
鈥淧olitical science research pretty consistently shows the lower the barriers to voting, the higher the turnout,鈥 says Golden, 鈥渁nd those barriers can be as simple as a 10-minute walk, a rainy day鈥攐r needing a stamp.鈥
Running the van shuttle is just one more way to make students feel supported, says Esmond, who typically spends most of the day with colleagues at a table set up outside Goodhart, answering last-minute questions and helping students double check that their voter registration went through.
The College鈥檚 designated polling place is close, less than half a mile, but many students take the van, Esmond says, because it鈥檚 fun to vote with their friends and have a ride. 鈥淎 lot of people walk back once they see how close it is,鈥 she says, 鈥渂ut if someone鈥檚 in a hurry, it鈥檚 nice to give them a quick ride over.鈥
People sometimes ask why the College doesn鈥檛 have its own polling place on campus, says Esmond. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e always said it鈥檚 because ours is so convenient,鈥 she says. 鈥淭here are never lines and students move through quickly. Also, it鈥檚 neat to see other voters. I just always think it鈥檚 good to get off campus and see how things work elsewhere.鈥
For Blatz, who led the voter registration drive at her high school in Ohio and has worked on voter outreach for local campaigns, encouraging young people to vote is about empowerment.
鈥淪o many people believe they are powerless and don鈥檛 have ability to promote change. But the past few elections have highlighted that every vote matters and every vote is a way to change the world that we live in.鈥 鈥 Amanda Blatz '23
Published on: 02/20/2023