In two months, American citizens will head to the polls. By choosing the next president of the United States, they will be shaping the future of our country and affecting the political landscape of the world. While discussing the candidates or current issues is nothing new, the act of voting is unfamiliar for many Furman students.
Most college students experience one presidential election, likely their first while eligible to vote, during their time at college. This timeframe, among a multitude of other reasons, causes students to have a low voter turnout nationally.
Voting is a habit — a process that becomes more natural as one accumulates experience over years of elections. Many young people gain the ability to vote soon after leaving their homes, moving far from familiar polling locations or even entering a state with different rules, unable to build that habit in a familiar environment.
Of the over 1,200 institutions that participate in the All In Campus Democracy Challenge, 30% of eligible students voted in 2022.
These circumstances consequently impact youth turnout broadly, but the result is severe among Furman students. In 2022, Furman was well below the national voting average — only 19.7% of our eligible students voted. In comparison, Wofford, a similar school in size, location and student demographics, had a turnout rate of 27%.
Even when Furman students are registered to vote, their voice often remains unheard. While in 2022, 57% of the student body was registered to vote, only one out of five cast a ballot.
One way to increase voter turnout at Furman is to demystify the complexities of the absentee voting process. Each state has its own set of voting regulations and associated deadlines. While some states, like South Carolina, require you to request a paper application for an absentee ballot, other states, such as Colorado, automatically send all voters a mail-in ballot. Regardless of what state you live in, the absentee ballot process takes time to complete, so you should begin planning several months in advance.
Despite these potential difficulties, it is imperative that you work to participate in elections. Your vote is your voice. The opinions of people our age are underrepresented in the government because our generation has the lowest voter turnout rate in the nation, according to Our World in Data. Those who vote the most get the loudest voice, so if you want your concerns to be addressed, you have to begin by formally expressing them.
Furman students represent 44 states across the country, meaning their impact can be widespread. Voters in swing states, such as Pennsylvania, could decide the next president. Voters in every state affect the political makeup of the Senate and House of Representatives. Voters have a voice in what is taught in schools, state-wide abortion laws, and how sustainable their towns are. Regardless of what district you vote in, you can have a widespread impact on thousands of peoples’ futures — including your own.
Whether you are registered in South Carolina or are miles from your polling district, voting is a multi-step process, which can be discouraging. However, the goal of Dins Vote, a non-partisan student-led club, is to help every student feel capable of voicing their opinion by providing voter registration resources.
Dins Vote was first created in 2016 following Furman students’ legal case against the Greenville County Election Board. Students sued for the right and ease of being able to register in Greenville, and they won their case. Furman students have a history of being politically motivated, socially concerned and advocates for others, but this does not show up in our current voting record.
Approaching this historic election, I have worked with Dins Vote as President to create resources and partnerships to make voting as easy as possible. Furman now has a voting registration portal that directs students to the registration website for their home state or South Carolina and an extensive voter resources website that helps students check their registration, request their absentee ballot and find their polling location.
For students who have questions not addressed by these resources, Dins Vote members are here to help. We will email resources, host tabling events during Wednesday’s common hour and monitor any questions sent to [email protected].
