The Daily Gamecock surveyed more than 90 students on Tuesday to see if they planned on voting in the 2024 election. Of those interviewed, 57 said they planned on voting or had already voted.
Some of the 36 students who did not vote said it was due to the lack of research and knowledge of the candidates or because they felt like their vote would not matter or count.
Out of the 14 students asked if this was their first time voting, 11 said that it was. Nine students said that the registration process was easy.
"I went online, I registered, and they mailed the card right to my house, or right to my apartment," Reginald Rouse, a second-year criminal justice student, said.
Other students said that they found the registration process difficult or confusing.
Erin Zonyk, a first-year sociology student, and Nora Zonyk, a first-year psychology student, said that they did not vote because they did not get their absentee ballot in time. Adam Kellman, a third-year education student from New York, registered to vote but faced difficulty in receiving his absentee ballot.
“It makes it kind of difficult for me right now, but I was all planned to vote, but right now it’s kind of difficult,” Kellman said .
Some students told The Daily Gamecock they think it was important to vote in the 2024 election because they wanted to have their voices heard.
“I’m voting because I care about my future and everyone around me and how our government is going to end up being for the next four years,” Montana Arp, a second-year advertising student, said. “It determines our rights and all the government regulations that are going to come for the next four years.”
Hailey Bidin, a second-year sports and entertainment management student, said she is voting because there’s a lot of issues that she should vote for or against.
“I think if you believe in something, I think you should vote for it and your opinion matters,” she said.
Sopfie Jones, a third-year musical theater student, said that she thinks voting is important because all of the issues will affect people’s lives “now and forward .”
“I feel like this election is pretty specifically generation-defining," she said. "I feel like there's a lot of important issues on the table and important things being discussed, especially for us as people going into the workforce and starting our adult lives."
Tristan Robinson, a third-year musical theater student, said he felt like the 2024 election was a “big pivot point,” being that the last election was during the pandemic. He believes that this is the first election under normal circumstances, he said.
Some students who registered to vote or already voted said that they wanted to make a difference.
"I feel like this is one of the most important elections that I could have been in, and I'm glad it's my first one," Erin McCall, a second-year public health student, said. "I just wanted to be a part of history."