Students can vote in the upcoming Hillsdale mayoral election. Courtesy | Robyn Beck
Hillsdale College students can cast a vote Nov. 4 to decide the city’s next mayor, choosing between Ward 2 Councilman Matthew Bentley and former mayor Scott Sessions.
Any college student can register to vote in local elections if he or she is a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, not a felon, and a resident of Michigan for the last 30 days, according to state law.
Students may vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 at the Hillsdale Community Library located at 11 E. Bacon St. Students from other states may still register to vote using their campus address. Since the mayoral election is less than 14 days away, eligible students not yet registered to vote in Michigan must register in-person at the county clerk’s office either on or before Election Day.
Josiah Jones, president of Hillsdale College Republicans, said his group helped more than 500 students register for the 2024 presidential election using their Hillsdale addresses.
Jones said he strongly encourages students to vote in the upcoming election between Bentley and Sessions, especially those who are already registered.
“I think students should thoughtfully take advantage of the duty to vote,” Jones said. “This includes voting in smaller elections, like our mayoral election. In fact, it is often these ‘smaller’ elections that have the most direct impact on our daily lives.”
Sessions was the mayor of Hillsdale from 2013 to 2017. His son Michael Sessions was the mayor from 2005 to 2009, and was famously elected at only 18 years old — the youngest mayor ever, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
“I believe students absolutely should vote in elections, it’s part of expressing their rights and their voice in the community,” Sessions told the Collegian. “But what matters most is why they vote. Not just showing up for the sake of it, but voting for what they truly believe in.”
Bentley currently serves as a Ward 2 councilman, which includes most of the college campus located west of Hillsdale Street.
“Voting should be understood as more than just a civic duty,” Bentley told the Collegian. “Registering and voting are also the lowest step on the pyramid of civic engagement and participation in the community where you live. The very act of participating means you are a stakeholder.”
Junior Jackson Casey said he has talked with Bentley a number of times on campus — most memorably at the Sigma Chi fraternity hot dog eating contest.
“I appreciated getting to speak with him and seeing his interest in the students at Hillsdale,” Casey said. “And that’s definitely something that sparked my interest more in the election itself.”
Casey said the topic of Hillsdale students voting in local elections is a “difficult question” since most students don’t live in town year-round.
“You have to consider which issues year-round residents might have, and how they express their preferences in politics,” Casey said. “And you don’t necessarily want the students to outweigh that.”
On the other hand, Casey said Hillsdale students are still residents of the town for the majority of their four years at the college.
“Overall, I think, our participation is a more beneficial thing than it would be any kind of hindrance. So I’d encourage students to vote, especially if you already registered for the presidential election last year,” Casey said.
Casey stressed the importance of knowing which issues are important for the city of Hillsdale and comparing the platforms of the two candidates.
“Before I vote, I’ll be researching each candidate more,” Casey said. “But from what I’ve seen so far, just a few weeks away from this election, I’ve been impressed to see Bentley around campus trying to include the college within the broader Hillsdale community.”
Junior Julia Caspar, a Hillsdale resident, said students should educate themselves on local issues if they plan on voting.
“You don’t want people voting if they’re not informed,” Caspar said. “I have friends who have no idea what’s going on in the town. So I think if you don’t know what the issues are, then you shouldn’t be voting for someone just because you’ve heard their name a lot. But if you do care about something happening in the town, then it would be good to vote.”
