I am from Pennsylvania and go to school out of my home state. So, I had to vote through a mail-in ballot. However, the decision to vote in my home state did not come easily to me.
Ohio has issues that are important to me on the ballot this year, such as Issue 1 and the U.S. Senate race between Bernie Moreno and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). However, I chose to vote in my home state because Pennsylvania is a swing state, and the House of Representatives race in my home county is important.
A lot of things go into choosing to go to college out of someone's home state. One thing that does not come into consideration when choosing a school out of state is voting in an election. Getting an absentee ballot is fairly easy, but choosing to vote in a home state or the state someone currently resides in is a conflicting decision.
In the Fall of 2024, Ohio University had a total of 628 out-of-state freshman students. Although some students came from across the country, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Illinois had the largest numbers.
Pennsylvania is a known swing state in presidential elections. A swing state is a state that could be won by either party that is running for the presidential election. These states are usually won by small margins and change parties from election to election.
There are seven key swing states in every election, including Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is arguably the most important swing state, seeing that it carries the most electoral votes out of the seven swing states.
In 2016 former President Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by 0.73% of the votes, and in 2020 President Joe Biden won the state by 1.17% of votes. Because of how close the vote is in the state, out-of-state college students in Pennsylvania are changing their voter registration to the state because they know their vote will count more there.
Deciding to vote in a home state or where someone goes to college in any election requires a lot of thought. The first thing is what is actually on the ballot, asking questions like if it is a local election or presidential election. Another thing to consider is how someone’s vote may impact the results. In every election, every vote is important. In a presidential election, however, some votes in certain states carry more weight because of how close the margins can be.
If a college student decides to vote in his or her home state, they must keep up with local politics. On the ballot there is more than just the presidential election, there can also be the school board or the mayor of someone’s hometown.
If college students decide to change their residence to their school’s state, they have to look at the residency requirements for voter registration. Out-of-state students should consider where to vote before registering.
Cassie is a junior studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
