An estimated 100 students engaged with a student voter registration absentee ballot request drive, hosted by the student government at Saint Louis University’s Madrid campus last Thursday. The booth was located in the lobby of San Ignacio Hall, where students were able to frequent the booth between 2 and 5 p.m. The purpose of this drive was to help American students abroad participate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Olivia Wendel, SLU campus’s club coordinator and PR manager was one such student working the booth, even staying past 5 p.m. to accommodate some student’s schedules. Wendel, who is a 21 year old senior, ran the booth on Thursday where she instructed numerous students to register for absentee ballots.
Representing the SGA she stated “any student that wants to vote we want to create that opportunity for them,” estimating directly registering 20-30 students for their absentee ballots, in just one day. Her experience revealed that many American students are interested in voting in the upcoming elections, and that the SGA is facilitating support for the voting process.
Wendel continued, explaining that many of the students she helped found it quite daunting to vote from abroad. However, representatives working the SGA booth were there to help involve students at any stage of the voting process, and engage them in casting their votes from abroad.
The steps to vote were clearly organized by the SGA. Firstly, students would need to request an absentee ballot from their local district office, using a clear five step process that automatically sends the request to district officials. Within a few days, each district official would respond with their voting information. Depending on the state, this meant students would either be able to vote directly through their state’s online portal, or they would need to print out their ballot and mail it through the US Embassy.
Olivia Wendel proceeded to organize a voting trip to the embassy on October 1st, broadcasting this event through university WhatsApp group chats, where she instructed students to meet in San Ignacio Hall with the necessary documents, and then traversed together to the embassy to vote.
For some students, studying away from home, free from cultural pressures and constant circulation of controversial topics, provides a clearer perspective on voting choices, SLU student voter Gianna Kohelberger explains.
Another, Emmett Graesser, spoke passionately about accessibility to voting through the SGA, adding “if you don’t use your vote it’s just a waste, and [students] need to [vote] even if they think their vote doesn’t matter.”
