USD students vote absentee

Out-of-state students registered as absentee voters are finally receiving their ballots

Tyler Arden / Contributor / The USD Vista

The clock is ticking. As anxious students await absentee ballots and rush to mail them back before election day, they’re coming to realize that voting away from home comes with its own unique set of challenges. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, many of those locally-registered San Diegans will line up to cast their votes. Plenty of students won’t go to their polling place or get an “I Voted” sticker, but that’s not to say they don’t care about voting.

Instead, these students plan to vote via absentee ballot. It’s a popular option for out-of-state students and California inhabitants alike, and requires starting the voting process long before election day. 

First year Tyler Young from Reno, Nev. is one of many students doing just that. For him, having a voting plan in place was important, especially because he needed to request an absentee ballot via mail. 

While the state allowed him to register online, requesting his ballot required a physical form. Young said it was a relatively easy process, but getting that ballot was not without delays and accompanying frustrations.

“The ballot took over two weeks to get here and I had to contact the voter registration office in Nevada twice to ensure that the ballot was sent,” Young said.

Even with all the advance planning it required, Young said that taking the time to account for receiving a ballot and working through the process was worth it given his involvement and stake in the elections at home. 

“Voting in Nevada is really important this year because Nevada is facing gubernatorial and senate elections,” Young said. “Both of these are nationally known to be the two of the most contested races in the country.”

Young’s decision to vote in Nevada wasn’t solely based on his desire to cast a vote in high stakes local elections, though. Equally important to him was being knowledgeable about the matters that he is voting on.

“Being a first year, I simply have not been in San Diego long enough to be informed on the issues facing this region versus those at home in Reno,” Young said. “To vote here would be robbing informed voters in San Diego of their voice.”

Absentee voting allows students to stay registered in their home precinct even though they won’t be physically there on election day. The process allows students to receive and complete their ballot through the mail. 

Given the nature of these absentee ballots, an extra logistical challenge is cast over the mail center on campus as it becomes a pseudo polling place responsible for sending out and delivering a growing number of ballots. 

Most notably, absentee voting means processing an extra volume of mail. Given the importance and time sensitivity of election material, Mail Center Manager Cheance Adair said that the center is working to process ballots quickly. 

“Currently we are getting ballot notices out as fast as we can,” Adair said. “I cannot guarantee they are getting notices in the same day. There could be a one-day delay, but I currently have a full tray of ballots that we have notified the student for, and they are still here, yet-to-be-claimed.”

Adair said picking up those ballots when they arrive is important. Without them, students can’t vote. To help students, the mail center made changes this year notifying students when important election mail arrives so they can prioritize picking it up.

“This year we set our email notice to alert campus residents that the item waiting for them is a ballot, as opposed to a letter or package,” Adair said. “Ballots are trayed separately so we can grab it quickly for the recipient too.”

Once students do pick up those ballots, Adair said that it is essential to complete that form and return it to the mail center quickly. While college students can be prone to procrastination, in order to ensure that each outgoing ballot is counted, waiting until the last possible deadline may not be enough.

“Don’t wait, get it in the mail system as soon as possible,” Adair said. “The USPS is probably working ballots as fast as they can, however, they are also, in general, processing letter mail slower these days to keep up with the demand for expedient package deliveries. You can thank Amazon Prime for that.”

Each county has their own deadline for when ballots must be received in the voter’s home state. With that, students should research candidates and ballot questions in advance to be prepared for when it is time to complete their ballot.

Adair noted that USPS retrieves outgoing mail from campus each day at 4 p.m. at the latest. Students should plan accordingly to get their ballot in to the mail center before then if they haven’t already.