By: Maxwell Brucks
McPherson College is home to students from around the country, but that can make voting on election day difficult if students are not registered in the county of McPherson. Additionally, campus athletes share that voting on election day is a difficult task due to practice and class schedules. However, those who cannot vote on election day can still make their vote count through early voting or mail-in ballots. Early voting can involve voting in person or requesting an absentee or mail-in ballot. Mail-in ballots also have differing restrictions based on what state a person registered to vote in.
For early voting, there are a couple of important dates to look out for. In Kansas, early voting begins in McPherson County on October 16. Early voting will end at noon the day before the election, which is November 4. For states like Texas, early voting begins on October 19 and will end on November 1. During this time period, residents can vote in person or through the mail using a mail-in ballot.
In Kansas, there are different ways to vote in person. According to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the location for early voting is in the County Election Officer’s office or any other designated satellite location.
Another way people can vote before the election is by using mail-in ballots. Some important deadlines for mail-in ballots in Kansas are October 29 and November 5. October 29 is the date the person should have received their mail-in ballot, and those ballots must be postmarked by November 5 and received no later than November.
Some states, like Texas, have different deadlines for when the ballot should be received by the voter. I asked Newt Eaheart about his time using mail-in ballots and what the process looks like for student voters. Eaheart said the mail-in process can be difficult, specifically stating, “if you don’t have help it can be difficult to fill out.” Eaheart is a member of Kerr County in Texas and has voted in local elections before. However, this will be his first time voting in a presidential election.
I asked Eaheart how long it takes to fill out a mail-in ballot, and he said, “Ten minutes. The process of filing out the ballot is not hard to do, but the act of getting the ballot and sending the ballot can be difficult and tedious.” That’s why it’s important to understand the process if you want to vote in the 2024 election. Make sure to get out and vote and know that your vote matters!
