College students play a large role in this year’s election, as many will be voting for their first time and have been active with rallies and opinions, but some have even gone to the extent of volunteering at the polls.
Tessa Young, a senior here at the University of Rhode Island, will be assisting her mother at the polling place in her hometown of Portsmouth, Rhode Island this year.
In preparation for Election Day, Young has to take a class on how to present herself at the polls. The course enforces that volunteers cannot persuade voters to vote for a certain candidate, and cannot offer political advice or their opinion. Young will be the assistant to the moderator and help use the new ballot boxes.
“I think that this electoral period is very crucial,” Young said. “We’re watching history being made, which is amazing. We spend a lot of our lives as kids growing up, reading in history books [about] the ‘important’ things in the world and how they change things for either the better or the worse. What we’re at right now is the crossroads between change. No matter which direction America goes, if it takes one crossroad or the other, we’re going to go down a pretty bumpy path.”
Young is a plant science major with a philosophy minor, so there is no direct correlation between her involvement in politics and the focal point of her academics. Her participation demonstrates that anyone can volunteer and be involved, regardless of their interests.
Many of Young’s classmates and friends were interested when she revealed she would be helping out. She said that they asked her why she’s doing it and how she received the position. In order to become a volunteer, anyone can take a trip to their local town hall and fill out an application. They will then be asked questions, such as if they are of voting age, what their zone is based off of residency and what volunteer positions they’d like to hold.
Young’s brother is also volunteering at the polls, and both siblings will be several generations younger than the majority of the other volunteers.
“Maybe the people coming in won’t take me seriously because of it,” Young said. “Or maybe they’ll be intrigued, because I don’t think it’s common for students to help out with those processes.”
Young’s mother, Debra Young, has been helping out at the polls for a few years and had some interesting stories from past experiences.
“This year’s primary election was one of the first elections that required voters to present a form of identification,” Debra Young said. “It could be anything. Some even brought Sam’s Club or BJ’s membership cards that had their picture on the back.”
Debra Young will act as the supervisor at the polls this coming Tuesday, getting there as early as 6 a.m. to help setup. She will be checking in voters and handing them their ballots according to political party affiliation.
Not all 50 states require an ID to vote. Approximately 20 percent of the country requires some form of ID, and only seven states require a photo.
Most volunteers at the polls are retired. They begin their day at the polls at 6 a.m. and cannot leave until the polls are closed at 8 p.m. In Portsmouth, volunteers have to be at least 16 years of age. Debra Young has yet to see many young adults at the polls working behind the tables.
“Hopefully younger generations will be motivated to volunteer next time,” Debra Young said. “My daughter and son are the youngest I’ve ever worked with.”
Though her daughter may not be a political science major, she has a few ideas about how people should be voting for the future of the country.
“When it comes down to voting, you have to look at who’s the candidates, who they want to appoint into the bodies of government,” Tessa Young said. “It would be bad to have the Supreme Court or Congress as one sweep of total Democrats or Republicans, because you need that balance to ensure that certain agendas don’t get made. I think as citizens of America, we have to take this election in stride and as a whole body of citizens, we need to come together. If people want change, the only way we’re going to enact that change is by coming together.”