With less than one week before the Oct. 21 deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with Penn Leads the Vote and Penn's Office of Government and Community Affairs about what community members should know before Election Day on Nov. 5.
PLTV is a nonpartisan, student-run organization that aims to promote civic engagement on campus. With Pennsylvania being a critical swing state in the 2024 presidential election, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump have sought to court the state's youth vote.
College senior and PLTV Director Alyssa Antonian said that the youth vote in Pennsylvania “could change the election.”
“Our age group of about 18 to 30 [years old] could be the deciding factor for Pennsylvania — which way the state goes — and so that is a power that I don't think a lot of students realize they have,” Antonian said. “This is probably going to be the closest election we've seen in decades, and that, honestly, could be decided by a group of students here.”
Antonian added that “a lot of people don’t understand the process of voting, how easy it actually is, and how quick you can do it.”
Students who are registered to vote on campus are assigned a voting location of either Houston Hall or the ARCH building. According to Antonian, students — once at their voting location — provide a name and government-issued ID to an election worker, who then will proceed to show voters to an individual, closed-off private voting booth with a screen. From there, students can cast their vote.
“It literally takes a few actual action steps,” Antonian said. “The longest part during busy times would maybe just be waiting in line.”
Antonian also said that students — especially those who are busy — may request mail-in ballots. The deadline to request a mail-in or absentee ballot in Pennsylvania is Oct. 29, and voters can submit either a physical or online request. A satellite voting shop on 40th and Market streets can provide and accept mail-in ballots.
OGCA Executive Director Dawn Maglicco said that individuals who requested a mail-in ballot but change their mind and want to vote in person need to surrender their ballot at the polling station instead of throwing it away.
Maglicco added that her biggest piece of advice is to “plan ahead.”
“My recommendation is, by this stage, you're [registering] in person or online and not relying on mail and processing times for your registration,” Maglicco said.
Antonian cautioned that in order to be counted in the state of Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots must be received by polling stations by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, not merely mailed by 8 p.m. Due to the high volume of mail in College House mailing services, she recommended physically bringing ballots to the voting site or waiting until Election Day to vote.
“We've seen some people's ballots get lost in the mailing system,” Antonian said. “Since the dorm mailing system can be kind of slow, things get lost. Your ballot is the last thing we want to get lost.”
To encourage voter registration and increase turnout on Election Day itself, Antonian said that PLTV will be tabling at an upcoming Penn football game and at SPEC Fest, both of which are scheduled for Oct. 19.
Similarly, Maglicco said that while Wellness at Penn is hosting its annual flu vaccination clinic in the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, OGCA will simultaneously provide resources for students to register to vote or change their voter registration address if needed.
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