By Anastasia Merkulova

After waiting hours to vote, some University of Maryland students believe the campus should implement more efficient voting protocols.

Large crowds of students voted in the presidential election at Adele H. Stamp Student Union on Tuesday, some standing in line for hours. Students had to vote at assigned polling locations on election day, which was likely Stamp or College Park City Hall for those living on campus, according to TerpsVote.

Ashley Witcher, a junior Spanish and philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) double major, said it took her around an hour to vote in the morning.

Two of Witcher’s mentees from TerpsEXCEED — a program providing students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in college experiences — were not able to vote because of long lines that came about in the afternoon. Witcher added that one of her mentees tried to vote for a second time in the evening but ultimately decided not to wait in line.

“A lot of votes aren’t heard, and that’s the biggest consequence, and it’s unfortunate,” Witcher said.

Some other students decided to stay in line but were unhappy with the long wait and the university’s planning. 

Eric Rudo, a junior information science major, said that waiting two-and-a-half hours in the afternoon was upsetting and suggested that UMD have more voting locations.

“There’s several places where election voting could have happened, it didn’t have to be necessarily in the one room,” Rudo said.

Courtney Holder, assistant director of Leadership and Community Service Learning in Stamp, said TerpsVote helped students navigate the voting process by answering questions, directing them to polling locations and celebrating student voters.

TerpsVote also provided students with free printing of proof of residency, which may have added more information for the election workers to process, according to Holder.

“Maryland is really fortunate in that the state allows for same-day voter registration, and so a lot of students were taking advantage of that,” Holder said.

Sarah Ghazali, a sophomore government and politics major, said she was unaware that she could not vote at Stamp while living in an off-campus apartment. She waited in line for two hours before realizing she had to vote at Paint Branch Elementary School.

Ghazali said her friend, who was also at Stamp in the evening, waited around six hours to vote. Meanwhile, it took Ghazali an hour and a half to vote at the elementary school.

“I know a lot of people who were at the information desk and thought they could vote, but they couldn’t because they technically live off-campus,” Ghazali said. “There just needs to be some kind of system where people are well-informed.”

Both students and the staff believe some steps can be taken to make the voting process easier in the next election cycle.

Holder emphasized that early and mail-in ballots can help voting become more accessible.  She added that getting the word out for students to update their registrations before the election and having more volunteers could help expedite the voting process.

“Students actually can sign up to be poll workers in the state of Maryland, which is an incredible role of service,” Holder said. “The more poll workers that we have across the country, then the more support there is at polling locations.”

Featured image: TerpsVote display case at Stamp Student Union. Photo by Anastasia Merkulova, Nov. 8, 2024