How Are Saint Mary’s Students Voting?

Saint Mary’s students reveal how they will vote or how they have voted in this election, revealing concern around mail in voting. 

By Isabelle Cannon
Contributing Writer 

This upcoming election there has been a lot of talk about how people will be voting given the coronavirus and quarantine restrictions.  The primary options are to vote in person or use a mail-in ballot. However, in typical political fashion there are rumors and worries that the election will be fraudulent due to miscounted votes. Due to social distancing guidelines, this election it is believed to encourage voters to mail in their ballots, but what do Saint Mary’s students plan on doing? 


A majority of the Saint Mary’s students that I interviewed expressed that they plan on voting in person despite the pandemic. Senior, Katrina Heffernan stated, “I think that right now in person voting is probably better because of the slow delivery with USPS and you also get an “I Voted” sticker which is pretty cool.” 


The United States postal service has been rumored to have recent problems of speed due to a lack of funding. Heffernan even expressed packages that have been sent to her from her parents seem to take longer than in years past. 


Saint Mary’s student, Ava Parashis, similarly stated, “I honestly prefer in person voting just because I trust that it will be counted and I turned it in myself.” With in person voting individuals seem to feel more secure that their vote will be counted and not tampered with. She went on to say, “Voting by mail is not new, it is just new to us.” 


This is the first time many students are able to vote in a presidential election. Because the way people are voting seems to be politically charged, individuals forget mail voting has been around for years. 


For some students, they don’t have an option to vote in person even if they want to. Raquel Corral, an out of state student, voiced “Personally, I think in person voting is better mostly because of the likelihood that nothing is tampered with, but I am voting with a mail ballot because I am out of state.” 


All three students who were interviewed expressed that they thought in person voting was better. However, all three of them have practiced mail in voting this election. So, is there really a right way to vote? Some believe that mail in ballots could be tampered with or the delivery will be delayed. While on the other hand, in person voting could lead to challenges with social distancing and large crowds.