Across Pennsylvania and other vital battleground states, students faced long lines at the polls on Tuesday and experienced issues receiving mail-in ballots.
A voting site near Lehigh University in eastern Pennsylvania notably saw wait times of six hours.
Many Slippery Rock University students were able to vote with ease, whether in person or by mail. However, those who faced challenges voting are frustrated and upset.
Some were ultimately unable to cast their votes in an election expected to be decided by young voters.
An SRU student who was unable to vote shared their experience with The Rocket anonymously. They requested a mail-in ballot and received confirmation that it was on the way to their Slippery Rock apartment on Oct. 7. Prior to the 2024 presidential election, they had voted before in local races but never by mail.
As days turned to weeks with nothing appearing in the mailbox, they became concerned but proactive.
“I kept calling different places, or I would answer every political call that I got…I would say, ‘Actually, my mail-in ballot hasn’t arrived.’” the student said. “And they would say, ‘Oh, just wait. We’re experiencing so many mail delays right now because of all of the mail-in ballots. Just wait. It’ll show up, it’ll show up.’ And it never showed up.”
They called up until and on election day and were assured they would receive their ballot.
“I was calling up until the day of the election, when I called someone and they were like, ‘Well, if you had called two days ago, we would be able to help you.’ And I was like, ‘I did,’” they said.
They described the situation as “really frustrating.”
“I want to believe that my vote matters,” they said. “So when I’m basically being put on the back burner, like they don’t really care if I do get my mail-in ballot, it just makes me feel like that’s not really true.”
When it reached election day, the student would have gone home to vote with a provisional ballot in person. However, they live five hours away.
“If election day was on a Saturday, maybe I could scrape it, but on a Tuesday, I cannot drive five hours there and then five hours back just to vote,” they said.
In the end, the student was unable to cast their first vote in a presidential election.
“Well, considering how the election turned out, I’m pissed,” they said. “I think everybody’s voice matters. I mean, the people in charge are who we have chosen them to be, so I want my voice to be in there as well.”
This student is not alone in failing to receive a mail-in ballot after requesting one with plenty of time to spare.
Fellow SRU student and first-time voter Ella Lamey also faced difficulties but was ultimately able to vote by driving three hours to her hometown.
Lamey received confirmation of their ballot being mailed on its way to them in mid-October. As time went on, she made worried phone calls.
“I just kept calling them back week after week, and they were like, ‘Yeah, it should be there soon,’ and it just never ended up showing up,” Lemay said.
Like many others, she was upset.
“I was extremely stressed,” Lemay said. “I really wanted to make sure that my voice was heard in this election. And the fact that I never received my ballot, and I kept hearing online that other people were not receiving their ballots–it was extremely concerning.”
Unwilling to give up, Lemay drove a total of six hours to their hometown and back to vote.
“I was really hoping that my professors would be okay with me missing class,” she said.
At the polls on Tuesday, Lemay did not have difficulty voting with a provisional ballot.
“I was a little mad I never got my voter sticker even though I drove six hours,” Lemay said.
Lemay shared their opinion on how to accurately and ethically elect government officials.
“When attempting to take a sample of willing participants, you are more than likely going to want as many participants as possible to get a more accurate result,” Lemay said. “When a specific demographic uses a certain type of voting method, and then a large percentage of that demographic loses the ability to voice their opinion, this can lead to skewed results and generally less accurate data.”
“This doesn’t even include people who are in cities and get stuck in long queue lines and get cut off before having their opinion counted.”
An additional student told The Rocket about difficulties voting. She was able to vote in the end.
Student Faith Richards intended to vote by mail as she would be out of her hometown on election day.
“I filled out the form to have the ballot mailed to me. However, it never came, and even to this day, it never got to me,” Richards said.
Richards was able to go home to vote in person. She was almost turned away at the polls as her local elections office had record of sending the ballot she never received. After a wait that she described made her “emotional and unhappy,” Richards voted.
“When they finally let me vote, I felt like, ‘Okay, this is my chance. This is my time to have action to vote,’ and I felt relieved,” Richards said.
Casting her vote matters a lot to Richards.
“It’s important to me that I voted and that it counts, because my ancestors fought hard for their rights to vote and to have a say,” she said. “Voting is a powerful tool we have in our democracy.”
Richards stressed the importance of advocating for marginalized communities, specifically those with disabilities.
“I want to have a say about my life and my future, and I want to be an advocate for myself and for people living with all abilities,” she said. “It’s sometimes hard for people with disabilities to understand how to do that, to vote, and it took time for me the first time, but I finally understood.”
