How Students Got Out to Vote

By Matt Serrano Last updated Nov 7, 2024

This sign is a symbol to many of the importance of voting in America. PHOTO CREDIT: ZACH JAWORSKI ’24

Many students were excited to vote in this election. That is according to the Andrew Goodman Foundation chapter here at St. Lawrence University. However, most students can’t vote conventionally in-person since they don’t live locally. As a result, students took to the polls through various pathways.

The most common avenue for those not living locally to vote is by mail. Skylar White ’26, who lives 2,200 miles away from SLU in Teton County, Idaho, did just that. “I would say that I had a really easy time voting by mail. I just registered online, but I think it is unfortunate that voting by mail is not consistent in a lot of states,” said White. White’s mom is an elected official, something she found helpful. “She understands the voting process better than the majority of people do, including me, so I can always call her and ask for help.”

The process of voting by mail was also easy for Poppy Hanson ’25, who is registered to vote in Connecticut. “I didn’t want to drive six hours to vote in person,” said Hanson. “The state of Connecticut makes it really easy for college kids or people who can’t be there in person to vote by mail.” However, getting a mail in ballot requires you to request one ahead of time which comes with deadlines and can be difficult.

Adrianna Skye ’26 was unable to get a mail in ballot. She said she forgot to request a mail in ballot before the deadline. “I used an affidavit ballot, and I went to the local fire station which had voting polls,” said Skye. Affidavit ballots allow those registered in a different area to vote in person. This can be beneficial in Skye’s situation of not having time to get a mail-in-ballot or if someone can’t provide proper identification online.

However, for some, like Zach Jaworski ’24, the convenience of absentee voting is not worth sacrificing the experience of voting in person. “I drove home because I thought it would be cool to vote in person, plus you don’t get a sticker if you vote by mail,” said Jaworski. He drove five hours to vote in person but ultimately felt that it was not worth it since none of his candidates won besides his choice for town justice.

While most students don’t vote locally, those who are from St. Lawrence County or have changed their registration can. One student, who chose to remain anonymous and will be referred to as Lydia Smith, changed their registration to vote in St. Lawrence County. “To my knowledge I just have to change my address to my school address, and I can fill out a ballot.” Smith was one of the students who used the Andrew Goodman Foundation vans since they don’t have a car on campus. “When I found out they offered this I was like ‘why not do it?’ it’s a way to go vote that is easy.”

Smith is among six currently reported students who used the van service provided by the AGF to access local polls. On Sunday vans drove to 42 Maple Street in Potsdam for early voting and to two polling areas in Canton depending on the precinct people are registered in. “Some people probably do feel that their vote doesn’t matter, but I think a lot of people still want to vote anyway,” said a representative of SLU AGF.

That excitement was mirrored by White, who voted by mail. “It was exciting to open a fresh ballot envelope and color in the circles,” said White. However students voted, many felt that this election was important, encouraging many to participate in future democratic processes.