Young people cast their first votes in 2024 election

As Emily Sanchez prepared to graduate from Logansport High School last spring, talking politics was the last thing she wanted to do.

Flash forward multiple months and the IUK nursing student and reigning Cass County Distinguished Young Woman proudly cast her first vote.

It's a feeling many of her peers were sharing on social media Tuesday. There were pictures of "I Voted" stickers or they were adding songs like "Yankee Doodle" or "The Election of 1800" from "Hamilton" to their Instagram feeds.

"Even though I've never been interested in politics or political issues, this election was different for me," said Sanchez. "In order to make a decision on who I wanted to vote for, I tried to educate myself on the positions taken by both candidates and what they stood for. I felt like I had a voice and could make a difference this year."

After her research was completed, Sanchez cast her first vote at the county fairgrounds last Thursday, Oct. 31.

"This election is very important to me and the way my life will be impacted for the next four years," she said.

Carissa Dawson, also an LHS graduate and a student at Ball State, voted for the first time on Monday.

She said going in as a first time voter was scary due to the heated nature of the election.

"It was liberating to be able to finally cast a vote for who I wanted," she said. "I didn't feel like I had to listen to people fighting anymore about it because what's done was done. I think that it was a nice experience to do my own research, come to my own conclusion and make my vote. This election is important and it was incredible to feel like I was part of it."

Gretchen Prifogle also felt some fear as she went to the polls for the first time because she had no idea what to expect when she got to the precinct.

The LHS alum and Purdue student found the poll workers very helpful.

"I was so excited to vote because I've been forming opinions about who should be in office for a while now and I was finally able to be a part of the process which was super exciting," she said. "I went to Hoosier Girls State so I've been excited about voting and the whole process of it since then."

Not everyone had an easy time participating in their first election.

LHS graduate and Ball State student Eli Bault never received his absentee ballot. He returned to Logansport on Monday to correct the situation which involved a conversation with the Cass County Clerk's office.

"I had to fill out a form saying that I hadn't received my ballot, so I was voting in person instead," he said. "Once I filled out the form, they scanned my ID again, but I still wasn't able to."

It led to another call to the clerk's office.

"In my experience, I feel like it's really hard for students of any kind to vote," said Bault. "For college students, it's hard to get back home. And that's why I applied for an absentee ballot in the first place. And for high school students, the hours for the polls run with the same hours that you have school and your extracurriculars."

Sanchez found Monday evening that some of her college classmates were not aware they could no longer register to vote in the 2024 election. Indiana's voter registration deadline was Oct. 7.

Over 20 states and the District of Columbia allow same day voter registration. North Dakota does not require voter registration. Any legal resident of the state is eligible to vote.

Prifogle stressed the importance of voting Wednesday afternoon, well after the election had been decided.

"I guess now I just feel like more people, including myself, need to take the task of voting more seriously and really do their research before voting and actually [going out to vote]," she said. "I know that after seeing the voter turnout percentages I was disappointed in how few people there were. I wish there was a way to convince people their vote is important, because it is. It just doesn't feel like it."

Bault said he believed that sharing your voice via voting was one of the most important things someone could do.

"And no matter how happy or unhappy you are with the results, your voice can still be heard and you should stand up for what you believe in," he said. "Voting was my way of getting my voice heard and I'm still proud of my involvement in the election."