MACON, Ga. — Political Science students on Mercer University's campus have spent the last few weeks registering students to vote.
Now that the deadline in Georgia has passed, they're focusing efforts on educating students about voting and making sure they show up at the polls, but COVID-19 has made everything a little bit more difficult.
"College campuses, especially with the onset of COVID, has really thrown a wrench with voting and how college students are planning on voting with absentee ballots or mail-ins being a big issue, topic this year," said Seth Blando, a Mercer student.
Many students have to decide whether to vote in person or apply for an absentee ballot.
"A lot of students are having to decide whether they should mail in their absentee ballot or go home and risk that exposure," said Jordan Jackson, another Mercer student.
Sophomore Drew Williams says the pandemic has also affected getting out the vote. He's a member of Mercer's Young Democrats and says they're balancing virtual events with in-person ones with COVID-19 precautions.
"We want to stay on campus and have in-person voter education, and I think there's a fear that if we do too many events and we're not careful enough, then cases could go up and we could end up being sent home," Williams said.
During this semester, students in the “Campaigns and Elections” course have masked up and volunteer for voter registration booths on campus as well as give a presentation about voting to freshman classes earlier this semester.
Jackson says they also are reminding their peers about online resources.
"Just because people are a little more hesitant to go out and do these things in person so letting people know you can do a lot of stuff online, whether it be checking their registration status, you can mail in a lot of things like your absentee ballot," Jackson said.
Additionally, the group is urging their peers to understand that their voice matters.
"One of the biggest misconceptions for young voters is they believe their vote doesn't count," Blando said. "The voter registration booth is just another way to tell and explain to them that their vote does count."
According to Pew's Research Center, 1 in 10 eligible voters this election are part of Generation Z, many of which will vote for the first time this November.
"There is an enthusiasm amongst them, there's an interest. There's engagement we haven't seen before," said Dr. Chris Grant, a political science professor at Mercer University.
These students also are encouraging their peers to create an action plan for when, where and how to vote and to know the important election deadlines.
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in Georgia is October 30.