Lengthy road-trips loom for absent-minded absentee voters

Rather than attending classes or hurrying to fill out her absentee ballot in time for the election deadline, sophomore Jen Sherman spent Monday afternoon on I-70 driving home to Overland Park, Kan., in time to cast her vote for the presidential election. Sherman, an active Democrat, didn't mind traveling through rain and fog that cost her an extra two hours.\n"I want to go (home) because I feel like the underage group in Kansas is poorly represented," Sherman said. \nAccording to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagements, in 2000, only 42 percent of youths between the ages of 18 to 24 voted in the presidential election. Since 1972, the first year 18-year-olds could vote, voter turnout percentage had dipped nearly 13 percent.\nSherman originally intended to vote absentee, but she did not receive her Kansas ballot in time to send it back. She also missed the deadline to register to vote in Bloomington.\nJunior Aaron Waltke also decided to go home to vote. The Greenwood, Ind., native said the decision to vote at home marks his rite of passage.\n"Originally, I was going to vote absentee in Bloomington," he said. "But now I also feel like it's a chance to make my opinion known for smaller ticket elections in my county."\nWaltke, who plans to vote Democrat in the presidential election, said he is not casting a vote for the sole purpose of making a difference in a state that will most likely swing Republican.\n"Just the fact that I'm casting my opinion in my hometown makes a difference to me," he said.\nIndianapolis resident, junior Mark Pallman, who drove home at 6 p.m. Monday night, never looked into getting an absentee ballot, although he wishes he had.\n"It would have been more convenient for me," Pallman said. "That way, I could vote on local issues that will directly affect me."\nBut Pallman, a first-time voter, said he is excited at the prospect of actually going into a voting booth and pushing buttons rather than just punching holes in an absentee ballot.\n"It will at least make my experience more active," he said.\nFreshman Jesse Kuhlenschmidt sent out his paperwork for his absentee ballot more than a month ago, however, because of a "goof" in the papers, he was not able to receive an absentee ballot. After realizing the deadline to register for Bloomington had passed, Kuhlenschmidt decided to drive two-and-a-half hours to Evansville to cast his vote.\n"There wasn't a chance that I would miss out on voting," he said. "I know (my vote) won't make a difference in this state, but you never know what could happen in the next four years -- I might not get a chance to vote again."\nSenior Lev Wismer, who drove home to Fort Wayne Monday evening, said he isn't taking any chances with the U.S. mail system after hearing a number of absentee voting horror stories.\n"I don't feel comfortable voting without going to a poll," Wismer said. "With how close the election will be, I just feel better knowing that my vote will actually count instead of slipping through the cracks."\nAltogether, by 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sherman will have spent nearly 20 hours in her 1993 white BMW and traveled more than 1,000 miles just to make a difference in Tuesday's election.\n"I don't mind doing this," she said. "I truly feel like my vote will count even though we are not a swing state. The more Democrats that get out there and vote, the better."\n-- Contact campus editor Lori Geller at lgfeller@indiana.edu.