In an effort to galvanize the Chapman University student voter demographic, Chapman’s Civic Engagement Initiatives team hosted an on-campus vote center Oct. 30 through Nov. 3. The polling place was set up in Argyros Forum with the assistance of the Orange County Registrar of Voters. Open through Election Day, the resource was accessible to students, faculty, staff and the surrounding Orange community who wanted to drop off ballots, begin the registration process or fill out and submit their ballot there. 

California is unique in its allowance of same-day voter registration, an opportunity offered in only 20 other states and the District of Columbia. With the Orange County Registrar of Voters on deck to help inexperienced voters register, their expertise was offered to those who had questions filling out their ballots.

“Chapman has done a good job of encouraging students to go out and vote,” said Michael Deats, a junior business administration major. “I don’t know the numbers, but I think this is one of the first elections in a very long time where young people are going out and voting, whereas in years past they haven’t.”

To Deats’ point, only 57.2% of eligible Chapman students voted in the 2016 general election, a statistic that Shishei Tsang, program coordinator for Student Engagement, was eager to change. While results for 2020 student voter participation are not yet available, Tsang is hopeful that results will be made available by spring 2021 and political conversations can continue among students. 

“We’re hoping that next semester, we can create more places where people feel comfortable to exchange ideas, rather than coming in with a narrow mindset and just staying that way,” Tsang said.

Despite the apparent surge in student voter registration levels, turnout on Election Day at Chapman’s voting center in Argyros Forum was meager, with The Panther observing only a few individuals taking advantage of the multitude of in-person polling stations. This could be due to preference for mail-in ballot and early voting options, thanks to fear of contracting COVID-19. 

The minimal wait time for voters serves as a stark contrast to the 2020 primary election, when a line of students and Orange residents waiting to vote stretched outside Chapman’s polling place in Argyros Forum.  

As voters exited the polling center, “I voted” stickers in hand, The Panther talked to a diverse array of individuals ranging in political ideology about prevalent issues in the 2020 general election. In comparing and contrasting the presidential candidates, common motifs emerged among voters, most notably valuing a national approach to combating the coronavirus and a local approach to reforming public safety. 

“The thing I’m probably the most concerned about, which is something that I don’t think either (candidate) has addressed very well … is the situation with the drug addiction and the homeless out here,” said Stephanie Craig, Orange County resident. “I also don’t feel safe with everybody having to board up businesses and such on the eve of an election. To me, that’s something fundamentally wrong right now with all of us not being able to meet in the middle and get along.” 

However, some voters admitted their political preference in the election was based more so off of party affiliation rather than core beliefs.

 “I was kind of just going with whatever the Democratic party was OK with,” said Benji Martinez, an Orange County resident. 

Overall, Orange County cast over 1.5 million ballots as of Nov. 7, only 260,302 of which were cast in-person. This fraction only reflects 17.3% of the total ballots, a possible explanation for the deafening silence at the polls.