Penn State Students Make Their Voices Heard on Election Day
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Tuesday’s presidential election has proved that Penn State students can take action on their passions, even outside the bleachers of Beaver Stadium.
The 2020 presidential election presented Penn State students the opportunity to vote in Centre County. Amid the chaos of the ongoing pandemic, heated political climate and candidate rivalry, students were encouraged to make their vote count.
This election is unlike any race the country has seen before. This is for a number of reasons, but most notably because it falls in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic. More than ever, Americans are critically casting their votes with the future of the United States in mind. This includes the student voters of Penn State University.
If voting in person, students had the opportunity to vote in Tuesday’s election at various polling sites across State College and University Park, one of which being the campus’ sports and live event arena, the Bryce Jordan Center.
Junior Madigan Lubold (communications/history), a voter in Tuesday’s election and poll worker at the BJC, spoke on voting importance within the student population.
“It is important to fulfill your civic duty as a citizen and as someone contributing to society,” Lubold said. “The choices you make on Election Day will impact individual lives and the community around you.”
But working at the BJC, Lubold noticed that voting lines were practically non-existent for reasons most likely pertaining to COVID-19. Nevertheless, some voters chose to vote from home for this year’s election.
“We haven’t seen a huge turnout, but that’s also due to possible mail-in ballots and absentee ballots,” Lubold said. “I have faith that Penn State students will vote.”
In-person voter turnout appeared to be affected nationwide by the coronavirus pandemic and the choice to cast a mail-in ballot. However, many Penn State students decided to cast their ballot at a Centre County polling place.
President of Penn State College Republicans Jordan Clark, a senior in telecommunications, and the rest of his team stood outside the Bryce Jordan Center yesterday to be in the midst of the action. Clark was confident that Penn State students would fulfill their civic duty to vote as he watched students enter the BJC and leave with a sticker.
Clark also notes that he was on campus at the HUB-Robeson Center earlier in the day, and lines were forming at that polling place as well.
As Pennsylvania continues to count ballots, the results were yet to be announced as of Wednesday night.
Lizzie Friel is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email esf5107@psu.edu.
