St. Thomas senior Marie Zissis thinks Election Day should be a national holiday, but not all college students have her zest for voting.
With midterm elections just around the corner on Nov. 3, Zissis and other students shared their experiences and hesitations with voting at a discussion hosted by the Center for the Common Good, Bridge St. Thomas and the Civic Engagement, Voter Education and Advocacy task force on Oct. 22 at the Jay Phillips Center.
“Similar to the U.S., I think St. Thomas struggles with political apathy,” Zissis said.
Students at the event were given the chance to prove otherwise, discussing political issues that are important to them and which candidates support those issues. Some of the topics discussed included representation for young people in politics, Minnesota state funding for schools and voting accessibility.
The students who attended the event came from a wide range of ages and majors. Most said that they had already participated in some form of voting, whether that be this year’s primary elections or the last presidential election.
Despite many students having voting experience, some said that they would feel uncomfortable voting if they felt they weren’t educated about the candidates or policies on the ballot. Sophomore Marty Gunderson said that he spent lots of time researching candidates.
“I did do a lot of research on the candidates for the primaries,” Gunderson said.
Gunderson said that his research included information about the candidates’ stances on political issues and their campaign’s funding, as well as how the voting process works.
For students who have not had experience voting yet, Zissis said that it is very important for college students to vote, even if it adds to existing time constraints and stress.
Zissis said that it is a struggle for students to devote time to researching candidates and said that “nobody can be civically engaged all of the time.” Still, she advised students to do their own research on candidates through reading campaign websites and looking at ballots ahead of time, adding that “sample ballots are so helpful.”
Some students at the discussion said that they may not feel comfortable with the experience of going to a polling place. Zissis suggested students should go to the polls with a group of people to make the experience less intimidating.
All students who do not live on campus are required to vote at their local polling station near where they live, or vote by mail. When asked if they were already registered to vote in the midterms, most attendees said they were registered or planned to register before the election.
Zissis said that voting can also be difficult for students who live far from home because mail-in ballots are complicated. However, anyone can vote in Minnesota if they have lived in the state for 20 days, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.
Gunderson suggested that students practice sharing their political views to help prepare themselves for voting. For example, he said that he enjoys discussing political differences in classes that relate to politics.
“I would be welcome to hear people with different opinions than me,” Gunderson said.
At the end of the discussion, organizers left students with a message encouraging them to vote on Tuesday, and to stay politically curious.
Jackson Geibig can be reached at geib3470@stthomas.edu.
Witney Geddis can be reached at gedd4212@stthomas.edu.
