Despite heavy rain throughout the morning, many voters turned up to the polls. (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

Despite heavy rains, students, faculty, and community members from the St. Louis area have been lining up to vote since polls opened at 6 a.m. this morning. 

Students and community members can vote today at the Athletic Complex before polls close at 7 p.m. — and voters who are in line after 7 p.m. are legally entitled to vote. 

Students — such as senior Jamie Burgasser, who is from California and voted in Missouri — were excited to vote and were out early. 

“It was so exciting,” Burgasser said. “This is my first election because I wasn’t able to go vote in the last one, but it was really, really cool.”

Sophomore Rohan Krishnamoorthi is also from California and voted in Missouri.

“It felt good,” Krishnamoorthi said. “Both my parents are immigrants to the U.S., and they came here in 1990, and they got their citizenship, and they both talked about politics a lot.”

Students, faculty, and community members vote in the Sumers Rec Center.  (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

Other issues on the ballot — such as Amendment 3, which, if passed, would legalize abortion until fetal viability in Missouri — were important to students, such as first-year Elise Taylor. 

“I’ve always been engaged in civic and political life, [but] this was my first time being able to vote, ever,” Taylor said. “Being able to vote in a presidential election was very fun, but I would identify myself as a single-issue voter, and the one thing that I’m voting on is just abortion access for women — not only in Missouri, but also across the country.”

First-year Kristen Cox is also passionate about reproductive rights, but she felt that it was hard to vote in an informed manner on other issues, such as judges. 

“It’s my second time voting, my first time voting in person,” Cox said. “… I didn’t feel that I was super informed on all the judges. It’s really hard to find information about the judges, and so that’s why [I was] … going for the single-issue voter stance and looking at how they took a stance on abortion.” 

Some students, like first-year Hannah Vazquez, were surprised that, despite the weather, there was significant voter turnout. 

“It’s not that early, but still, [given] the weather, I thought less people were going to be there,” Vazquez said. “But I think people really care about voting.”

According to The Source, WashU has a high voter turnout compared to the national average college student turnout. 

“The student voter turnout rate [at WashU] in 2020 was 70.8%; the national average among U.S. college students was 66%,” according to The Source. “This year, the Gephardt Institute set a goal of 72% voter turnout.”

Vazquez was hoping to vote when she came to the polling center, but due to long lines, she plans to come back after an afternoon class. 

Tents belonging to WashU Sustainability and WashU Votes will be set up outside the polling station for the rest of the day, and WashU Votes is giving out hot drinks, donuts, and pizza to voters.

Some voters reported waiting in line for over an hour to cast their ballots. (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

Krishnamoorthi is critical of low overall voter turnout in the U.S. and wishes more people would vote.

“I really wish we could get that higher voter turnout,” Krishnamoorthi said. “I think it’s super important to have your voice heard, especially when there’s a lot of important issues on the ballot that could affect you and your family. I think it’s just important. No matter if you think your vote doesn’t count, it does count, at the end of the day.”