With Election Day near, students at the University of Scranton and the school’s administrators say they are seeing more engagement this election than previous ones — and many are choosing to vote in Pennsylvania, a swing state in a tight presidential election, rather than returning to their home states.
States have different residency laws, but in Pennsylvania college students can register to vote in either their home state or where they attend college, as long as they have lived in that town for 30 days prior to the election.
Julie Schumacher Cohen, the Assistant Vice President for Community Engagement and Government Affairs at the University of Scranton, says the university gives the students the tools to help them know their options.
“One of the unique elements of Pennsylvania is that it is a swing state, and so some students may choose to vote here because they may feel like they want the impact,” says Cohen.
Some students want to vote in their home state, so that they can vote for down-ballot races, including Senate, House and local initiatives, she said.
“College students do have that choice and that option. We let them know about that, but it is really up to them what they decide to do,” Cohen said.
Cohen has organized nonpartisan informational events for several election cycles. This year, she says, feels different. “Questions to our office, all of that is more than I can recall,” she notes, adding that “there was concern around immigration and the war in Gaza.”
Akeelah Wallace, originally from New York, will cast her first vote in Pennsylvania on November 5th. “My vote matters here,” she says, noting that there were people from non-profits promoting the vote in Pennsylvania at the University of Scranton.
For Aidan Thornell of New Jersey, voting in Pennsylvania also felt especially impactful. “Here my vote counts a little bit more than it would in New Jersey.” He voted in New Jersey in the last election. Asked about if he saw nonprofits or any other group approaching students saying they should register in Pennsylvania rather than the other states, Thornell says “I actually talked to somebody on campus that asked me to register here. We had a conversation and made the decision to register here.”
At the University of Scranton, which has 3,600 undergraduate students, voting locally also resonated with Nohemie Jean-Pierre, from New York. She chose to vote in Pennsylvania to avoid long waits back home. She believes the outcome could hinge on a few key votes. Pennsylvania voted Democrat in every election going back to 1992, except 2016, when Donald Trump won by less than a percentage point.
As of October 28, Pennsylvania’s registered voters reflect a close split, with 3.99 million Democrats slightly outnumbering 3.71 million Republicans, while over 1.1 million remain unaffiliated.
The political breakdown of voters in Lackawanna County, where Scranton is located, echoes the state’s. The county’s 150,000 registered voters include 79,000 Democrats and 52,000 Republicans. These numbers suggest a closely contested electorate with Democrats holding a slight edge in overall registration.
Nonprofits are actively promoting voting rights near campus. Abby Hessler is part of a non-partisan outreach group. She spent last Saturday distributing flyers and approaching students with information on early voting, both in person and by mail. She said that a lot of the students had already submitted their ballots.
Her teammate, Jimmy Blazike, saw 26 students scan a QR code within two hours on Saturday to learn more about the voting process.
Another student from New York, Joseph Walas, believes his vote carries more significance in Pennsylvania than it would back in his heavily blue-leaning state. According to him, while there were efforts to encourage voter registration on campus, there was no specific push to vote in Pennsylvania. He will vote in Scranton on Election Day.
“Here my vote means more, because it’s a swing state, it’s probably what the election is going to come down to,” he added. “New York is pretty heavily left, so I don’t think my vote would mean that much.”
Not everyone, though, is voting in Scranton. A student from New York, who preferred to remain anonymous, opted to vote back home, because for him local elections have a direct impact on his life rather than the general election.
He says he was approached by Democratic supporters in town encouraging him to vote in Pennsylvania, but he decided to vote at home. He noted that many students at the university have a general idea of the candidates they plan to vote for, indicating a high level of student engagement in politics.
Anna Cordy, a student at the University of Scranton who is from Pennsylvania, has already cast her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris by mail. Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot system, which passed with bipartisan support in 2019, saw more than 2.7 million voters participate by mail in 2020.
Being from a swing state, Cordy feels the weight of her decision. “We haven’t really been known as much, except from ‘The Office’ and from President Biden. We have someone who’s high in office that comes back and says he’s a proud ‘Scranton boy’, but we can also make a difference in the election as a swing state,” she says.
Student Dejanna Richardson also voted by mail, prioritizing issues including abortion, taxes, housing, and inflation. “Those affect me the most,” she explains. Although she leans Democratic, Richardson says she’s cautious not to fully align with any party. “None of them really match.”
Not everyone is swayed to cast a ballot. Noah Barker, a student from New Jersey, chose not to vote, citing a lack of research. “I think it is irresponsible for somebody who hasn’t done their research to make that decision, regardless of how much of an impact it can have.”
Over the weekend, Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump’s son, delivered remarks in Scranton, declaring that “it’s cool now” to sport MAGA hats on campus, and addressed Pennsylvania’s importance. “You guys are so critical.” Pennsylvania carries 19 electoral votes, more than any other swing state.
Satyajit Ghosh, an Economics professor at the University of Scranton, says that for the first time he saw nearly all his students saying they intend to vote. He’s noticed heightened engagement among female students.
“There were a lot of talks when President Biden was at the top of the ticket that these young voters were very disengaged. That changed with VP Harris being put at the top of the ticket quite a bit,” he says.
For many students, including Human Resources major Susmita Dahal, this is their first election. She is voting for Harris, following in her parents’ Democratic footsteps.
Now that the students are so engaged, the university is working on access. Voting in Scranton isn’t always easy for campus residents as the local voting location isn’t walkable, and the university is working to provide transportation, according to Cohen.
