Colin Maiwurm – Staff Writer
With Election Day coming up on Tuesday, November 8th, many may be wondering what this means for them. Since it is only the general election, many tend to overlook it and believe that it truly does not matter. While it may not be as big as the presidential election, the general election does still play a major role in everyone’s day to day life. The next set of people to take these positions in this election will be making decisions regarding important topics like abortion, gun control, legalization of marijuana, and health care.
“Every election is important because you pick people who make the decisions that affect your life everyday. This election is important because it’s very close in a lot of races, so every vote really does make a difference,” Political Science Professor Kate Knutson said.
Since the races within this election have been very close and important, there is a high pressure for everyone to vote, including Gustavus students. In order to vote you must be 18 years of age and a United States citizen. Minnesota, unlike many other states, lets you register on the day of the election. Thanks to this, if it’s your first time voting in St. Peter or even your first time voting at all, you are able to register when you arrive at the polls to vote. The location for the polls this year is at the community center. The community center is right off of S. Washington Ave, 0.3 miles away from campus. If you do not have a way to make it to the community center, or do not want to go alone, there will be a shuttle bus at campus center that will be going to the community center. This shuttle bus will be going back and forth all of next Tuesday.
With the location and transportation out of the way, there is the issue of knowledge regarding the candidates who are running in this upcoming election, as well as how many candidates there are. While most positions tend to have only two candidates running, that is not always the case.
“There is only one candidate from each of the political parties, so in some races you’ll have a Republican candidate and a Democratic candidate. In other races there are third party candidates so you might have three to four candidates running . . . in some races there might only be one candidate,” Professor Knutson said.
Each race is unique in regards to how candidates are running and this can change each election. The college has set up a page called “Gustie Voters” on the Gustavus website that contains information and links telling which candidates are running for the specific office. The website also describes what each of the candidates party is and what their values for certain topics are.
While most of the students on campus can participate in voting during this election, there is still a large portion that cannot. This portion being international students. While international students cannot vote, they can still participate in this upcoming election.
“International students are not allowed to vote, but they can participate in campaigns. If they have a candidate that they like, they can support that candidate by helping with their campaign by going door knocking, encouraging people to turn out and vote, and get involved in issues they care about,” Professor Knutson said.
Anyone can help candidates with campaigning. The college will help students who wish to reach out and aid a candidate. There are also events hosted by student organizations that will bring in a candidate to help promote and get college students interested in the election.
Candidates love having college students help with their campaigns, so they jump at the opportunity to be invited to a college campus and get to know the college students within the area. There are still many opportunities for anyone wishing to get more involved with politics before and after the election.
“Gustavus students really do make a difference here. The last couple of elections have been very close in this district. Gustavus students tend to make the difference in the outcomes of those elections. When they participate, their voice and their vote actually matter,” Professor Knutson said.