The upcoming Election Day on Nov. 5 will be a momentous occasion for Colgate University students. For most students, this will be the first time they will be able to vote for a presidential candidate, but for many in the Class of 2028, this is their first major election ever. Out-of-state students had to navigate absentee ballot requests on top of their initial registration. Even local students had to decide between a mail-in ballot or in-person voting, both of which have unique complexities.
To ease their way, the Colgate Vote Project and Democracy Matters have provided information about voter registration, absentee ballot requests, and important state-by-state deadlines. Both clubs have held tablings in the O’Connor Campus Center (Coop) to help with voting paperwork and to field any questions. First-year Valentine Phoeni utilized these tabling events to make sense of their state’s voting requirements.
“I had to request an absentee ballot, and I did so through a person in the Coop,” Phoenix said.
Phoenix also mentioned how important this election was to them due to past experiences.
“I’ve received a ballot before, but there was only one candidate on it, so I didn’t think it was important,” Phoenix said. “I’ve never voted before so I don’t know about this process. This will be the first time I’ve ever voted.”
On the other side of the spectrum, Steph Sheehan, a first-year student from New York, didn’t need to ask any questions.
“I was already notified about the online voting in my state beforehand, so before I got on the campus, I had already filled out all my registration and stuff to get my absentee ballot delivered to campus,” Sheehan said. “I [registered] a week before my birthday [in] May.”
However, Sheehan did experience some anxiety while filling out the ballot. Although she registered early, Sheehan had never voted before, and found the form a little confusing.
“I was overthinking if I needed to use a pen,” Sheehan said. “Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s like a Scantron, in that you just fill in the bubbles […] I keep on saying it was the most stressful Scantron experience of my life.”
Where Colgate clubs have provided general information and helped students when needed, Colgate has tried to make the physical act of voting as accessible as possible. Kaitlyn Riedel, a first-year and the secretary of Democracy Matters, explained how students will be supported.
“Here, [the polling center] is at the [Hamilton] Library,” Riedel said. “I can walk, but there also should be shuttles going towards there. They’re also doing this big walk group where, after classes are done, they’re gonna take students all down as a group to go vote.”
After deliberation, Riedel also decided to change her voter registration to New York. She considered both the outcome of electoral districts and ballot measures while sharing her reasoning.
“I have more of an impact here versus South Dakota where everything’s pretty well decided,” Riedel said.
There are a lot of moving pieces in every election, but presidential elections can be particularly stressful, especially for first-time voters. For some, researching ballot measures, gubernatorial positions and presidential candidates at the same time is impossible next to their schoolwork. Some have made the tactical decision to prioritize one responsibility over others.
“What was written on the ballot about the proposal [was] pretty much all that I knew about them, but the New York one was pretty straightforward in what it was asking,” Sheehan said. “Probably next time I vote, I’ll look more into that […] Research just felt like too much.”
From the first day of the fall semester, Colgate has been focused on the upcoming election. With the help of different clubs, freshmen were able to navigate the process of voting for the first time on campus. This process wasn’t without its challenges, but students managed, and they will be practicing their right to democracy this Nov. 5.
