In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, U.S. voters are left with many questions. An important one that college campuses are addressing is how to make voting more accessible to students. Some are taking measures such as canceling classes university-wide.
At Slippery Rock University, teaching faculty are allotted a half day to vote. They may choose an online activity or something similar to replace regular class sessions on Election Day, giving their students more time to vote.
Overall, though, how do we make voting more accessible to everyone?
In The Rocket’s previous staff editorial, we discussed how registering to vote and voting are often easier than people think. However, we have seen our peers struggle to exercise their right to vote, especially when attempting to vote by mail. How can the U.S. make sure more voters’ voices are heard?
Making Election Day a federal holiday is a first step to help more citizens vote in person.
We the privileged
Making Election Day a federal holiday would positively affect teachers, students and those with white collar office jobs. These populations would have an easier time voting.
As a student-run newspaper, we are most experienced in challenges facing student voters. If we had the day off from classes and work and were thus able to drive to our home precincts, many of us who voted by mail would have opted to vote in person.
Our assistant copy/web editor, Paige Miller, never received her mail-in ballot and had to drive home an hour to vote.
“If election day was a federal holiday, I–along with many of my friends and peers–would’ve had a much more convenient time voting, especially for those of us who had to drive home and miss class/work because of polling,” Miller said.
Assistant sports editor Noelle Paratore shared that her voting plan also would have changed if Election Day was a holiday.
“If I didn’t have to be in class, I would have voted in person rather than through mail,” Paratore said. “I had problems with the ballot getting here to begin with, and then some are also scared [about] what happens to their ballot after they mail it out.”
Madeline Bundy, multimedia editor, feels similarly.
“Voting in-person also takes the stress away of if your ballot will be accepted in time, and you don’t have the risk of it being lost or stolen from the mail,” Bundy said.
Making Election Day a federal holiday would bring more student voters like us to the polls. However, it is not enough.
Bottom rungs
Federal holidays do not directly impact working class, blue collar voters the same way it affects us in academia. The status quo requires many of these individuals to work long shifts on Election Day, inhibiting their ability to get to the polls and excluding important members of society from electoral counts.
Not helping is the fact that many in low-income jobs have difficulty taking time off.
“[Some service workers] could risk losing their jobs if they do not have a merciful manager,” student life editor Annabelle Chipps said.
Sports editor Aidan Treu mentioned that not having Election Day off represents a type of suppression symbolic of larger systems.
“Voting day not being a mandated off-day is an injustice to those who may not be able to take off work or school without repercussions,” he said.
Some staff members pointed out the lack of allotted time for voting is part of classism on a larger scale and, because of the structure and history of American classism, borders on the line of racism.
Vote your own way
As discussed, many of our staff would have chosen to vote in person if they had time off on Election Day. Some members mentioned feeling more secure voting in person than by mail.
Besides more assurance that your vote will be counted, voting in person offers the classic voting experience.
Many of us are young voters participating in a presidential election for the first time, and we wanted our stickers. We wanted to wait in line and feel the exhilarating energy. We wanted to crouch in a voting booth and feed our ballots into the machine. We wanted to walk out with pride (and a sticker).
Bring awareness
It is a frighteningly little known fact that there is a reason to go to the ballot box every year. Putting Election Day–no matter how big the election–on the federal holiday calendar puts it at the front of voters’ minds.
We anticipate that designating voting as a holiday will drive voter participation in smaller elections. It will show citizens that their government cares about their voice and wants to hear it.
