American students at Edinburgh have begun to receive their ballots to vote early in the presidential election by mail. Polling figures indicate that voting margins between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are incredibly close.
Because of Edinburgh’s sizeable American student population, attempts to streamline voting have emerged within the student body.
For the candidates, this means trying to secure every vote, even those of Edinburgh students, may be vital to their success on 5th November. We spoke to American students around campus, to get a sense of what attitudes student’s have going into the election. The sentiment among potential voters at Edinburgh is a mix of eagerness to make an impact, and skepticism.
Some students displayed indifference to the whole process. “I know Kamala is going to win [my state]” was a comment repeated by multiple students interview. Some felt voting would be redundant, and there were those who found the process to simply be “too much” for a country in which they do not live.
Even those who seemed enthusiastic to vote still held some reservations. One first year called mail-in voting “a great way to ensure the franchise is extended to everyone”, saying it was “integral” to fair election. She then went on to detail the “confusing” format of her ballot may deter students from voting.
A significant factor in students’ reluctance to vote was the complexity of voting by mail. Every US state has different voting registration laws, making it incredibly complicated for students to get registered in certain. Andrea from California said she would support an online voting system to make voting for accessible to Americans abroad. “I think if secure, it [would be] a great tool to reach more citizens,” Andrea said.
Because of Edinburgh’s sizeable American student population, a concerted effort to streamline voting has arisen from within the student population.
Natasha Mansukhani, a fourth year International Relations student, found it within herself to help her fellow American Edinburgh students exercise their right to vote in US elections. When she turned 18 in Edinburgh, she “couldn’t help but think about how many Americans needed help to absentee vote.”
In the current election cycle, Natasha is helping as many students as possible, putting all the Americans she could in a WhatsApp group to help guide them through the absentee ballot process, no matter the state and her unfamiliarity with their local election laws. When asked why she decided to put in so much effort Natasha replied, “I felt compelled to do something because democracy is important to me.”
A student-led system has also been organised at the University of Saint Andrews to educate US students on voting internationally and organising their ballots for the election. Through primarily social media, with a similar arrangement being spearheaded at Edinburgh, to manage votes and send them all to a mail-in ballot facility in Arlington, Virginia.
For more information on voting by mail and from abroad, check out votefromabroad.org
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash