Voters in the community, including St. Thomas students, socially distanced at St. Thomas’ McNeely Hall and the Groveland Recreation Center in St. Paul as they voted in the 2020 election Tuesday.
As citizens geared up for this election, the importance of voting was stressed significantly, as advertisements, celebrities like Beyoncé and social media apps like Instagram encouraged citizens to register to vote.
“(Voting) is the way we express our opinions in our democratic society, and our votes count and it makes a difference, a big difference,” Groveland Head Election Judge Bob Wojcicki said. “We can have a lot of power by voting.”
At Groveland Recreation Center, a mix of St. Thomas students and local citizens cast their votes. Groveland Assistant Head Election Judge Kathryn Jacobson said that many registered voters assigned to vote at Groveland had already turned in absentee ballots.
“The amount of people that voted early is just phenomenal compared to past years,” Wojcicki said.
Wojcicki said the broad awareness raised about this year’s election has led to citizens’ eagerness to vote.
“I think it’s a very popular election, a lot of people want to vote,” McNeely Hall Head Election Judge Mitch Helle-Morrissey said.
Secretary of State Steve Simon said more than 1.7 million Minnesotans had voted by Monday morning and that 339,000 outstanding absentee ballots still remain. These ballots will need to be turned in by Tuesday, otherwise they will not count.
“I think people are just more engaged. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t know this is happening,” Jacobson said.
Despite COVID-19 concerns, voters showed up to polls where masked election judges offered hand sanitizer along with ballots. Pandemic or not, senior Katie Carmichael was still excited to vote.
“I felt confident coming in and voting,” Carmichael said. “It’s my first presidential election voting, and I wanted to do it in person.”
On this year’s ballot, Minnesotans are able to vote in the U.S. presidential and congressional races as well as for many other state and county officials. Sophomore Francis Scarchilli thinks that people who are informed have a duty to go out and vote.
“You believe that certain things are true and good for our country, and you should act in accordance with that truth,” Scarchilli said.
Carmichael feels she has to vote to make change in her daily life.
“It’s important to vote, because that’s how you get your say in what you want to see in policy and what you want to see change,” Carmichael said. “If you don’t vote, you don’t have a say.”
As an impartial election judge, Helle-Morrissey believes that citizens should have a say in the way the government is run, and voting is one way to do it.
“I think everyone should vote, I think it is one of your responsibilities as a citizen,” Helle-Morrissey said. “We want people from all parties to vote so their voice is heard in government.”
Minnesota polls will be open until 8 p.m. and polling places must stay open until everyone in line before 8 p.m. has voted.
Scout Mason can be reached at maso7275@stthomas.edu.
Emily Rudie can be reached at emily.rudie@stthomas.edu.