SU, SUNY-ESF students excited to cast ballots, feel safe voting in person

The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

As soon as Alexander Bejaran arrived at Syracuse University from Puerto Rico, he gathered all the information he could to register to vote.

If Bejaran was still in Puerto Rico, he couldn’t have voted in the 2020 presidential election. But on Tuesday, he cast his ballot for the first time in New York state.  

“I just didn’t want to wait,” Bejaran said. “I just didn’t want to put it in the mail or whatever, I wanted to have the full experience of coming in person and doing it.” 

Bejaran, who is a third-year law student at SU, is one of thousands of college students who cast their ballots in this year’s election, many for the first time. SU and SUNY-ESF students who voted in Onondaga County on Tuesday told The Daily Orange that voting in a presidential election was exciting, and they felt safe voting in person despite the coronavirus pandemic. 

Former Vice President and SU alumnus Joe Biden is challenging President Donald Trump for the presidency. As of Tuesday at 10:30 p.m., 228,000 voters in Onondaga County had cast their ballots, breaking the county’s previous voter turnout record of 220,000 votes in the 2008 election.

Maia Wellington, a freshman at SU majoring in film, always watched her mother vote when she was younger and looked forward to voting in her first election. 

“It was kind of exciting,” Wellington said. “I always saw my mother casting her ballot, and I was always like, ‘I want to vote.’ I’m glad I got the chance to.”

Voter turnout among college students in the 2016 presidential election increased by over 3% from the 2012 election, with 48.3% of college students turning out in 2016 and 45.1% doing so in 2012, according to a study from Tufts University. 

It’s more important than ever for young people to vote, said Surya Vaidy, a sophomore in SU’s environment and sustainability integrated program. 

Vaidy was one of the first SU students to arrive at the Huntington Hall polling site when it opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday. The site experienced delays Tuesday morning because one of the ballot-printing machines had broken, and the first voters were not able to cast their ballot until about 7 a.m.

Students should stay informed about local politics and make informed decisions at the ballot box, Vaidy said. 

“In high school, we were isolated, and we lived in our own bubbles of our own towns,” Vaidy said. “We should hold ourselves to that standard of doing our duty and being active and understanding who’s running our state, who’s running our schools.”

Chancellor Kent Syverud cast his ballot at the Huntington Hall polling place Tuesday morning. Emily Steinberger | Photo Editor

Chancellor Kent Syverud was also one of the first voters at Huntington Hall on Tuesday morning. This is one of the most important elections he can remember, he said.

“I think this is going to be so important for (students) in the future,” Syverud said. 

Students who voted at Huntington Hall and the Spiritual Renewal Center on Lancaster Avenue, which is located near South Campus, felt safe voting in person with the precautions the polling locations took to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Voters were able to practice social distancing at both locations, and everyone kept their masks on, students said. Poll workers sanitized the voting stations after every use. 

“It was a very quick process,” said William Wolff, a senior at SUNY-ESF majoring in environmental studies. “I was only in there for less than 10 minutes, and they were going around sanitizing all the places people had just voted at, so it felt pretty safe, and everything was spread out.”

Many students who voted on Election Day said they cast their ballots in Onondaga County over their home counties.

Celine Brad, a junior at SUNY-ESF studying biology, is originally from Westchester, New York. She chose to vote in Syracuse because she was concerned about voting by absentee ballot and because she knew she’d be in the area on Election Day. 

States across the country, including New York, have expanded early and mail-in voting options in response to the pandemic. As of Tuesday, nearly 1.2 million New York voters sent their ballots in by mail, and 65 million Americans voted by mail across the country.

Luke Stirpe, a senior television, radio and film major from Rhode Island, felt like his vote would have more of an influence in Syracuse than at home. 

“Back home where I am, it’s pretty consistent how it goes,” Stripe said. “I wanted to do a little more with my voice.”

Many students in Onondaga County who voted for the first time on Tuesday said they simply wanted to experience casting their ballot in person. 

“It felt liberating,” Bejaran said. “It felt like everything that’s happened in the last like four years came in culmination — even if we don’t win. But it just felt really good. It made it feel real.”