An estimated 100 students attended 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 between 2 and 5 p.m.
The purpose of this drive was to help American students abroad register to vote and request an absentee ballot for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Olivia Wendel, SGA’s club coordinator and PR manager, volunteered to assist with the drive, even staying past 5 p.m. to accommodate some students’ schedules.
“Any student that wants to vote we want to create that opportunity for them,” says Wendel. She estimated directly registering 20-30 students for their absentee ballots, in just one day.
Her experience revealed that many American students were interested in voting in the upcoming elections. According to Wendel, many of the students she helped found it quite daunting to vote from abroad. However, representatives working the 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 organised in a clear fashion by SGA. If students are registered to vote, the first step is 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, district officials should respond with their voting information. Depending on the state, students are either able to vote directly through their state’s online portal, or print out their ballot and mail it to their district offices. SGA organized a group trip to the embassy on October 1st. Students met in San Ignacio Hall with the necessary documents, and traveled together to the embassy to drop off their ballots.
