Officials encourage students to vote in midterm elections

Students are preparing to vote in this year’s midterm elections.

Officials have been encouraging students to vote since the beginning of the semester. 

Student affairs officials hosted a voter registration drive picnic Sept. 25. Forty-five students registered at the picnic. Forms were available at the mailroom, in the law school, in the Involved Center, and in the office of Levi Harrel, director of student engagement.

“Voting is perhaps one of our most basic and most important civic obligations in our community,” Harrel said. “We, as an institution, want to empower our students to let their voices be heard, so it is important to us that our students be registered to vote.”

Registered voters who are unable to visit their polling location Nov. 6 may vote by absentee ballot. An absentee ballot must be requested and can be done so online at vote.org/absentee-ballot/. Deadlines for requesting and sending in a ballot vary between states and can be found at vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/. Many states still are accepting applications. While many students are using absentee ballots, some are also opting to drive home Nov. 6 to vote in person.

“I am  driving down early in the morning to vote and then driving back that day,” said Alison Sloan, acting junior. 

“Last time I tried to apply for an absentee ballot, it didn’t end up coming. It just never showed up. I have heard that absentee ballots are getting harder to access, and I just want to not take any chances.”

Harrel said more students registered at the picnic this year. He said it’s because of the midterm elections, which students are invested in. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in Senate are up for election. Republicans are the majority party in the Senate with 51 representatives. Democrats are the minority party with 47 representatives, leaving two independents who caucus with the democrats.

“Vote. Your voice absolutely matters,” Harrel said. “It does not matter who you cast your ballot for such that your voice is being heard, and you are meeting and fulfilling that very basic and most important civic obligation.”