Growing up is challenging. As soon as someone turns 18, society expects them to make informed and value-based decisions about who should lead a country. For many Milligan students, voting for the first time became a reality last November. However, for approximately 10% of the Milligan student population—that’s more than 100 students from 42 nations—the voting process is more complicated. Voting elsewhere brings its own set of challenges, from navigating foreign systems to managing logistical issues. The route to the polls is not the same for everyone.
Sophomore Kaya Schröder is from Germany, where an early election was called after chancellor Olaf Scholz lost the confidence vote. This year’s federal election will be her first one.
“I think it (voting) gets more and more important. I see a lot of tendencies towards very extreme politics, and I want to have a vote,“ Schröder said.
Germans living abroad can cast their votes, but the process is time-consuming. Filling out the paperwork, sending the ballot paper to the States, voting and returning it on time are all a part of the process. Only when the letter arrives on time does the vote count. Because the postal voting period is much shorter than it is for regular scheduled elections, this rule could affect Germans living abroad at this year’s elections, which usually take place in September.
“It is more of an opportunity, really,” Schröder said about the possibility of her vote not arriving in time. “If it happens, it’s great; if it doesn’t work out, it’s fine.”
Junior Tegan José is from South Africa and has never voted before. To be eligible to vote in South Africa, citizens living in the US have to vote on a specific day in an embassy. José has not yet voted in a South African election but intends to go to the polls for her country in its next election.
“I feel like it’s important to vote because you can’t complain about your country’s government and the way it ruins things if you are not going to make an effort to try to make it change, even if it feels like it’s small or insignificant and it’s not really achieving anything,” José said.
In contrast to José and Schröder, Samantha van Vuure, an international engineering senior from the Netherlands, had no interest in voting in the Dutch parliamentary elections during her time in the US.
“For me, voting isn’t that important because I am rarely at home,” she said, “but if I had been home and more involved with everyday life, I definitely would’ve put more effort into researching the political stuff so I could vote responsibly.”
Voting requirements and laws are constantly changing and often vary by person. To learn more about specific voting requirements in the three countries talked about, visit the following websites:
https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/voting-abroad/postal-voting
https://www.elections.org.za/pw/VotingAbroad/About-Voting-Abroad
About the author:
Emily Haas is a freshman from Hildesheim, Germany. She is a journalism major and a member of Milligan’s swim team. She enjoys traveling, reading, and finding geocaches.