Marist Votes Breaks Down Election Day Barriers

Marist Votes student leader Sylvia Wysor '26 encourages students to inspire others by sharing "Why I Vote." Credit: Beatrice Karron '25

As Election Day 2023 drew nearer, Marist Votes and the Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership (CCEL) helped students register to vote and request mail-in ballots. 

“Knowing that there’s an election is half the battle, but then knowing where to go, how to fill out an absentee ballot, when it’s due – navigating all of those procedural requirements is a battle,” said Melissa Gaeke, director of the CCEL and senior professional lecturer in political science at Marist College. 

Young people consistently have the lowest voter turnout and are faced with barriers like strict voter ID requirements, confusing residency rules, missed registration deadlines and issues accessing a polling location, according to Civic Nation. Many college students rely on mail-in ballots, which can take too long to arrive. Mail-in ballot rules also vary by state, leading to voter confusion. 

“People just don’t know how to vote,” said Sylvia Wysor ‘26, assistant director of Marist Votes. 

“They move away from home… there’s a bunch of other obstacles, and voting is just not a top priority.” 

Across the U.S., organizations on college campuses are trying to actively increase youth voter participation by providing information on how to vote away from home. Last week, Marist Votes helped students register to vote. They also taught students how to get their absentee ballots with instructions on completing and returning them. To inspire other students to vote, Marist Votes encouraged students to leave a post-it note describing “Why I Vote.” 

”I vote because I have access to vote, and I know that there are so many individuals who are unable to vote,” said Wysor. “As someone who goes to Marist, I think it’s really important that I exercise that right and encourage others to do the same.” 

Since Marist Votes was founded by Julia McCarthy ‘18, the percentage of Marist students voting has steadily increased. In 2020, 70% of Marist students voted – a 28.5-point increase from 2016, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) from the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University.

“[Marist Votes] want[s] to ensure that students have access to fair and reliable, neutral, non-partisan information so they can exercise their right to vote,” said Gaeke.

While voter turnout skyrocketed across all demographics during the 2020 elections, voter turnout is consistently lower during off-year elections where local and state-wide races are on the ballot. Although there are no national elections this year, Gaeke hopes students know the impact of their vote, no matter the scale of the race. 

“Voting is the most fundamental right we have, and if we don’t exercise that right, then it could be taken away,” said Gaeke. “It’s not mandatory, it’s voluntary.” 

With the next general election just a year away, Marist Votes and the CCEL are preparing to increase awareness of the importance of voting and voter registration in the coming months. 

“We’re working on ramping up for next year so that when we have the national election, we’re able to help students continue to register, continue to know how to submit their vote and just to be an active part of democracy,” said Wysor.

Marist Votes is a member of the Hudson Valley Student Voter Coalition with Bard College and the Student Learn Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition. Through SLSV, Wysor will attend the 2023 National Student Vote Summit at the University of Maryland, where nonprofit organizations, faculty, administrators and students from all over the country will discuss strategies to engage campuses in elections. 

“We're really excited to represent Marist there and soak in all the other information from other students… and hopefully implement some of these initiatives at Marist,” says Wysor. 

While Marist Votes continues to motivate students to use their civic power, Marist students are unable to vote on campus. A 2021 bill mandates polling places at institutes of higher education in New York, but Marist has yet to meet the requirement of at least 300 registered voters to the college address. The designated polling location for students voting in the county is at Violet Avenue Elementary School, a five-minute drive from campus. 

Until students can vote on campus, they can still vote locally by updating their voter registration or requesting a mail-in ballot. Voting resources are available through Marist Votes’ social media pages.

“It would be really interesting to see what would be different if you just had to go into the Student Center and cast your vote,” said Gaeke.