In the 2022 midterm elections, the most recent national election for which data is available, Michigan led the nation in youth voter turnout at 37.6%, according to a report by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Given all that’s happened since — the crisis in Gaza, Vice President Kamala Harris’s entry into the presidential race, and two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump — two questions loom large this Election Day: How do Michigan youth feel about participating now, and how did groups motivate them to vote?
“Well, I think it’s obviously an individual’s right to be involved in the electoral process, or if they decide not to, that is their right as well,” said state senator Sam Singh (D-East Lansing). “Now, I know presidential elections especially have a significant impact on our state as well as our university, and I would hope … people utilize that power to vote to make sure their voices are heard.”
Singh said candidates must make a convincing case that “it’s important enough to come out to this election.”
Gabe McDougall, a political science student at MSU, said he intends to vote in today’s election. “I’ve always been a Democrat, so I knew from the start I was going to vote for Biden or Kamala either way,” McDougall said.
McDougall said the Democratic Party has done a “good job” addressing young voters’ concerns, especially after Harris entered the race.
MSU College Republicans and MSU Turning Point USA did not respond to requests for comment.
Excitement and Reluctance Among Youth
Aiden Bourgeau, a programming intern for MSU Vote which seeks to develop good civic habits and acclimate students to voting, said many students are excited about the upcoming election, and a number of hot-topic issues are motivating them to vote, including reproductive health and student-loan forgiveness.
However Bourgeau said there is still some hesitancy among youth. “There definitely are people who are reluctant to participate,” he said, adding that’s because some think their vote won’t count and aren’t “fans” of the candidates’ policies.
“You might not see the direct or exact change that you hope to see, but you do start that process … if you continue to have those civic habits that we hope all students form … you know you’ll continue voting for the rest of your life, and hopefully, if you’re doing that you will be able to make the changes you want to see in the government,” Bourgeau said.
MSU Vote debuted a brand-new website this year with detailed guides and accurate links checked by the local clerk’s office, where students can access a step-by-step voting guide on registering, requesting absentee ballots, and finding their polling location. Bourgeau says this helps motivate students to vote by making it “super easy and super accessible.”
“We also work directly with the clerk’s offices and the Secretary of State to … figure out ways to make voting accessible here on campus,” Bourgeau said.
New State Laws Remove Barriers
People now can register to vote until Election Day instead of having to register “at least 28 days beforehand,” said state senator Sam Singh. There were also options to vote early and request absentee ballots. In the past, first-time voters could not get an absentee ballot.
Under the new state law requiring early voting, there were 14 days of early voting from Oct. 21 through Nov. 3 at WKAR Studio B in the MSU Communication Arts and Sciences building instead of the minimum nine days.
Singh said he has seen long lines, especially in university communities. He recounted the last election cycle when people lined up to vote by 8 p.m. but didn’t get to cast their ballots until midnight.
“We wanted to remove as many barriers as possible for them, and I think now we probably have some of the best policies to allow people not to find themselves in huge lines,” Singh said.
This year, MSU Vote started a new Democratic Engagement Internship that hired and trained students to have civil, peer-to-peer conversations about voting during election season. The interns deployed across campus to discuss voting with students at tables complete with stickers and T-shirts.
MSU Vote receives data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) at Tuft’s University, the nation's largest study of college and university student voting. In recent years, Michigan State University has stood out as one of the top colleges in voter student registration and turnout.
In the 2020 presidential election cycle, roughly 90% of MSU students who were eligible to vote registered on-campus and some 76% voted. Bourgeau said the initiative expects turnout to be very high this year because of the presidential election.
Discuss and Debate to Improve
MSU Vote is always looking for ways to improve, Bourgeau said. During election cycles, the organization holds committee meetings twice a month, where student groups and faculty members can discuss issues in a democratic fashion.
“We have roughly 20-30 people at any time we show up to any of our meetings to converse and debate and help us strategize on different ways that we can collaborate with our different faculties and facilities across campus, which is a big part of also getting people aware of what we provide during an election season, which is super helpful to helping us get the turnout,” Bourgeau said.
Today's turnout will tell just how engaged students were in the 2024 voting process.