Prior to the flutter over butterfly ballots and the hoopla over hanging chads that marked the 2000 election, many regarded modern voting as a simple process: you walk into the voting booth. You make your choices - be they for donkeys, elephants, or third-party candidates - and, like a Santa Claus of democracy, you check them twice. You pull the lever, the curtain swishes open, and you're done.
But for some college students, voting can be a lot more difficult than making a quick stop at a voting booth around the corner. In fact, it can even involve a plane ride.
"I'm flying home to vote," said junior Negar Razavi, who is registered to vote in Pennsylvania. "One, I don't trust the postal service to get [my absentee ballot] in in time, and two, I don't trust that the election officials will count the absentee ballots."
Razavi cites the pre-election situation in Florida as evidence for her concerns. Early voting began on Oct. 18 in Florida, and complaints - including one from a state representative - have already been filed regarding incomplete ballots and unfair voting procedures there.
"Look at how things are going now in Florida - and this is with people actually going to the polls, and not even just mailing things in!" Razavi said. "I just have no faith in the system."
Razavi's skepticism of "the system" mirrors the findings of a Rasmussen poll released earlier this week: 58 percent of Americans are concerned that the upcoming election will be "another Florida-style mess."
Additionally, Reuters reported yesterday that a delegation of international election observers had released a report stating that "substantial threats to the integrity of the U.S. presidential election remain." The delegation - which included diplomats, civic leaders, lawyers, and longtime election monitors from 15 different countries - arrived at their report by visiting five states in September and evaluating their voting preparations.
More recent voting developments have not looked promising, either: it was discovered earlier this week that 13,000 absentee ballots ordered from a Colorado company were not produced or mailed out. Additionally, various registration-related complaints have been lodged in states including Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Razavi's point of view also reflects the concerns voiced in a recent Newsweek cover story called "Will Your Vote Be Counted?" According to the story, at least one million first-time voters have registered for the upcoming election.
This deluge of new voters, Newsweek said, could potentially overwhelm election officials - resulting in some new voters' registrations not actually being completed in time for the election.
Similarly, the sheer multitude of absentee ballots could make processing all of them correctly (every one must be verified and counted) difficult - an issue that worries senior Deirdre Brodie, especially where the ballots of the 500,000 U.S. soldiers currently abroad are concerned.
"I'm worried about the military ballots being counted," said Brodie, who is registered to vote in New York and sent in her absentee ballot on Wednesday. "When you have so many troops abroad during an election, you really need those to be counted, but I don't think the military makes it enough of a priority, whether for political or cultural reasons."
Brodie is also concerned that the procedures required for absentee balloting negatively affect voter turnout among college students. (In 2000, 62.7 percent of 18-24-year-old college students were registered to vote, but only 48 percent actually made it to the polls, either in person or via absentee ballot.)
"A few of my friends and I were talking the other day about how many kids go to school outside their voting district, and how that affects voting patterns, especially if they're not politically minded in the first place," Brodie said. "A lot of kids who watch Jon Stewart and know about politics miss out on voting because they're far from home."
Brodie added that the rules and regulations governing absentee ballot deadlines serve as an obstacle for those individuals who have yet to choose which candidate will receive their vote. "A lot of people aren't decided early enough to get it in in time," she said.
Junior Priya Sharma, who is registered in Washington, D.C., is one of the many college students nationwide who are voting via absentee ballot. "I first tried to get an absentee ballot over the summer when I was home, but the site was always down," she said. "Then, I tried again when I got to school, but it was seriously one of the most sketchy processes I've ever done to get something. I was worried it wouldn't come."
Sharma's concerns over the validity of her application weren't alleviated when she got a call from her mother in D.C. earlier this week, telling her that an absentee ballot had been mailed to her home address.
The next day, however, another ballot arrived at Sharma's school address. "Apparently, they sent one to each address to be sure I'd get it," she said. "So they're not quite as incompetent as I thought, but it's still pretty ridiculous - if I were at home, why would I need an absentee ballot?"
There are positive counterpoints to experiences like Sharma's, however. "I registered to vote in August, and when I signed up, I requested that they also send me an absentee ballot," said sophomore Matt Malinowski, who is registered to vote in Penn. "I got it in the mail about a week ago, and I didn't have any trouble."
"I'll fill out my ballot according to the instructions that came with it, and send it in," Malinowski added. "Honestly, I'm not skeptical of the absentee ballot."
Neither is senior Chloe Randall. But then again, she's not using one: "I'm from Boston, so I'll be voting here," she said.
