FSU and FAMU early voting polling stations see low turnout ahead of primary elections
With early voting available ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, both Florida State and Florida A&M universities have opened locations for registered students and community members to cast their ballots.
But polling stations appear to be in short supply, in part because many students have not yet returned to campus for the fall semester, which begins August 26.
“Turnout is a little low because students are coming back to town and having to figure out housing,” Assistant Elections Director Chris Moore told the Tallahassee Democrat. “We’re competing with other things on their priority list right now.”
There are ten polling locations for early voting in Tallahassee, including FAMU’s polling location in the H. Manning Efferson Student Union building on campus and this year FSU’s polling location in its Student Union building – a change from previous locations in the Student Services building last year and in the Tucker Civic Center since 2018.
The week-long early voting period began on Saturday, August 10 and ends on Sunday.
As of Thursday afternoon, FAMU had 63 voters who cast their ballots early, an average of about 10 voters per day, while FSU had 187 voters, averaging about 20 to 30 voters on most days, according to a report on early voting for the 2024 primary.
But when it comes to the general election, voter turnout is much higher on university campuses. For example, during early voting for the 2020 general election, FAMU’s polling place saw a turnout of 2,573 voters, while FSU’s turnout was 8,744.
Despite low voter turnout at both campuses ahead of the primary election, students like Kayla Delcham, a senior at FAMU and broadcast journalism major, took advantage of the opportunity to vote early. She proudly cast her first-ever ballot on Monday on the campus of the historically African-American university.
“It was a really good experience to actually go out and vote and have my voice heard,” said Delcham, an Orlando native. “Even though I’m not from Tallahassee, I’ve spent a lot of my life here. It’s important to have a say in what’s going on in this city and who’s governing it.”
On the FSU campus, sophomore and business administration major Simone Shah cast her vote early. “A vote not used is a wasted vote,” said Shah, 19, a Jacksonville native. “This is really important and shows that we really do have a say in electing our local representatives.”
While registered voters in Leon County can visit any of 10 polling places for early voting, Moore said they will be assigned to a specific precinct for Tuesday’s primary, which he said makes early voting more convenient.
Voters’ assigned polling places can be found on their voter information card or by completing a short form on the Leon County voter information website.
“We encourage students to team up with their friends if they want to,” Moore said. “We try to remind them that voting is not a test. If they make a mistake, they can get another ballot to correct it. It’s not a high-pressure situation.”
More information
- The FSU and FAMU polling stations are open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Sunday.
- The next early voting period for the November 5 parliamentary elections will be from October 21 to November 3.
Contact Tarah Jean at [email protected] or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
