Students sit inside the stakes, not outside.
By Samiyah Heyward
Staff Writer
Arts, Culture & Technology
Over 132 seats are up for election in South Carolina, and the effects of what happens, not just in the state but across the nation, is dependent on U.S. voters.
However, the group that is affected by this the most is also the one that is sitting in lecture halls and is the least likely to vote. That turnout gap between younger and older voters is not indifference, it is a missing lesson, and that makes this upcoming midterm election impactful to students especially, whether they decide to cast a ballot or not.
Voter participation and civic engagement are critical parts to the foundation of the United States. They directly affect the livelihood of each individual citizen across the country and will continue to do so for generations after. Yet, a significant portion of people nationwide are not educated in voter registration and laws or simply do not see a purpose in participating at all.
People in Generation Z aged 18-24 are the second largest age demographic in the U.S., and yet compared to older generations aged 65 and up, their voter turnout is significantly lower. “In 2024, 47.7% of citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 voted, compared to 60.2% of 25- to 44-year-olds, 70.0% of 45- to 64-year-olds, and 74.7% of people 65 and older,” according to USAFacts.
Because of the lack of proper education regarding voter registration in recent years, many U.S. citizens lack the fundamental understanding of how the process works or why it matters. Many also fail to see how their individual voices matter.
“I have no recollection of being taught voting,” said Cameron Osbourne, sophomore political science major and Socialist Student Union president. “There’s the idea that every person should vote, but there was never really much about the procedures or the direct application of voting.”
Landon Polansky, junior political science major and Winthrop College Republicans president emphasized the lack of proper education regarding voting as well.
“I actually taught most of the students how to vote [when I was in] high school”, Polansky said. “I lived in a really small town [with a] population of 300, so no one really voted […] I was never taught […] everything I learned was on the internet or in my [college] classes”.
That gap does not close when students arrive at college, and for those who study civic engagement, it is exactly where the cost of never being taught becomes most visible.
“It is extremely imperative for college students specifically to know how to vote, because 18 to 24 year olds are the lowest age demographic to be civically engaged,” Meaghan McLaurin, senior political science major and voting ambassador said.
“We’ve [recently] found [that] our lowest voter turnout are our STEM majors, which is really interesting because they are such a large portion of not only our school demographic but also our country’s demographic […] They have very important perspectives that need to be heard,” Mclaurin said.
“I believe that voting is important,” Osbourne said. “I would say it’s, in my opinion, the bare minimum of civic engagement […] people should be told and reminded of the importance of voting every year”.
Election day and student voting has always been an essential part of Winthrop’s campus culture. Since 2016, Winthrop University has received multiple prominent recognitions and seals for its large numbers in student voting turnouts and registration efforts.
Katarina Moyon, senior advisor of the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy at Winthrop University and a Pericles Civic Fellow further elaborated on their efforts to engage student voter participation.
“[We] have eight student voting ambassadors that [we] work with every year that we haxve an election,” Moyon said. “In this election cycle, the student voting ambassadors have done 43 classroom visits [in September] to help students find out about how to register and how to vote. And then we’re also working with ACAD, Writing 101, HMXP, and CRTW to ensure that voting and registration is mentioned in every classroom, if possible.”
Winthrop University has secured gold seal designations from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge across multiple election cycles, and has been frequently named as a Voter Friendly Campus.
“[During] the 2018 midterm election, [the institute] earned their first gold seal for its impressive student turnout of 41 percent, […] this was more than [double] the number of student voters from 2014, going from 19.8 percent to 40.1 percent”, said the official Winthrop website.
During the 2020 presidential election, the institution won its second Gold Seal for achieving a 74.5 percent student voter turnout which was a 17.8 percent increase from 2016
“Winthrop is recognized nationally as an award winning campus, we want students to take pride in their [college] and keep the tradition going,” Moyon said. “Any student can send me an email anytime at moyonk@winthrop.edu, and I would love to hear if anybody has any ideas [for the future].”
Seats up for election in SC include but are not limited to: one U.S. Senate seat, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and all seven of South Carolina’s U.S. House Congressional seats.
The voter registration date passed on Oct. 4, but registered voters in SC may vote from Oct. 19 until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Classes will not be held on Election Day.
