Senior Claire DeMarco is 135 miles away from her home in Pennsylvania. But she didn’t let that stop her from voting. Last Thursday, she received confirmation that her absentee ballot arrived in Pennsylvania three days after casting her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Even though early voting will occur for the first time in Connecticut’s history this election, DeMarco’s home state is Penn. and wanted to vote in her local elections. Therefore, she sent in an absentee ballot and took The Mirror through the simple process.
“When I filled out that application, it couldn’t have been easier,” she states. “I just googled it, and through the Penn. voter services portal, I was able to use my current home and school address, as well as my Penn. Driver’s License to apply.”
Not only is it the first time early voting is happening in Conn., but the Fairfield University Media Center will be one of the early voting locations from Monday, Oct. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (with extended hours on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) in the Conference Center Lobby.
For students who are residents of other states and do not want to register to vote in Conn. elections, Stags Vote recommends they reach out to engagement@fairfield.edu “sooner rather than later because deadlines to register for a mail-in/absentee ballot are approaching and engagement@fairfield.edu can get you the correct forms (and send them out for you if your state does not have online voter registration capabilities).”
For Conn., the voter registration deadline is Oct. 18. However, there are other ways to register to vote in this upcoming election. During the Early Voting Period, students can register to vote for the first time or update an existing Conn. voter registration at an Early Voting location and cast their vote immediately at the same location.
Conn. also offers Same Day Voter Registration on Election Day, Nov. 5 at designated Same Day Voter Registration locations in their town.
For many seniors like DeMarco and most undergraduate students alike, this is the first presidential election that they are eligible to vote in, although DeMarco has been able to vote in midterms and local elections.
“I voted absentee in Penn. because my state tends to be a ‘swing state’, so I feel like my vote really matters in my area. I also had a few local candidates that I was very passionate about supporting,” DeMarco shared.
Additionally, she acknowledged the further impact these candidates will have on her life: “Given that after graduation, when these candidates are actually in office, I will likely be back in my home state, I feel like the issues there really apply to me.”
DeMarco felt “extremely excited” to cast her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz because she believes she’s “voting for the person who could be the first female president of the United States, as well as someone who would bring in a diverse administration who would truly care about and protect my future, and all of our futures,” she asserts.
“Their commitment to women’s bodily autonomy, implementing gun control policies, providing healthcare to those with pre-existing health conditions and their opposition to the Project 2025 agenda,” are the main issues that prompted DeMarco to cast her vote for the democratic party.
All residential students on the 1073 North Benson Campus, as well as commuter and Beach Residents who live in the Town of Fairfield, are eligible to vote in Fairfield and can do so by updating their address to the Town of Fairfield and then voting in the Town of Fairfield elections via Early Voting, Same Day Voter Registration or at their designated Polling Location.
Editor’s Note:
The Mirror tried to interview both Democrats, Republicans and Independents, but DeMarco was the only student who agreed to talk to us for this article.
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