Starting on Sept. 16, voters in Pennsylvania can begin casting their early voting ballots for the upcoming presidential election. As a key battleground state, Pennsylvania plays a crucial role in the battle between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
College students hold similar significance as one of the biggest voting demographics who can sway November’s election’s results. However, 36% of Temple students are out-of-state residents, many of whom can’t travel long distances home to vote on Election Day. Temple also holds classes on Election Day, further complicating in-person voting for students with busy schedules.
Fortunately, absentee and mail-in ballots give students the flexibility to vote remotely and allow them to create a low-stress voting plan ahead of Election Day. Students should explore the mail-in voting options to ensure they can cast their vote even if they aren’t physically at the polls.
Mail-in and absentee voting are offered across all 50 states and are a great alternative to traveling to and waiting in line at a polling location on Election Day. The mail-in option takes out the stress of voting in person and gives students more time to study their ballots and research candidates. In the 2020 election, six of the top 10 states for youth voter turnout were vote-at-home states, according to a 2023 study by the National Vote at Home Institute.
Ari Monarch believes that mail-in voting is an effective option that gives students more time to consider their choices.
“It’s not as though we’re given off for Election Day, whether it’s from school or work. So that might be a reason why mail-in and absentee is a little bit easier for students,” said Monarch, a senior political science major and the president of Temple’s Political Science Society.
Students can register to vote and update their polling locations online through vote.gov. This website offers state-specific voting dates and registration deadlines, as each state has unique voting periods and registration cutoffs. Understanding voting dates is essential and will remove stress from the voting process.
Malia McKay, a first-time voter, believes it’s essential to civically engage and participate in voting for this presidential election with so many significant issues on the line for young people.
“This is the first year that I’m old enough to vote in the presidential election, so I think it’s really important as an American citizen and a person contributing to society, it’s important to exercise that right,” said McKay, a junior communication and social influence major.
Multiple on-campus organizations provide students with the resources they need to create a voting plan and be politically engaged. Temple Votes and Project26 are nonpartisan groups that provide information about registering to vote and changing voting locations so students don’t have to jump through hoops to exercise their civic duty.
Micheal Hagen, an associate political science professor, says voting is a personal responsibility for students that upholds the American government.
“It’s pretty clear we as citizens and residents need to be supportive of our institutions and that means informing ourselves about what is going on and what the alternatives are and casting some form of a vote, expressing our preferences and our support for the system,” Hagen said.
With less than three months before the election, students need to begin establishing their voting plan. Students can prevent future stress or a rush to the polls by registering and choosing a voting option ahead of time. There are accessible ways to prepare, both on campus and through online resources.
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