Juniors Vinny Acuña, Sydney Green, and Lucy Treene vote on Election Day. Courtesy | Sydney Green

More than 500 students registered to vote in Michigan this fall, said College Republicans president Hinson Peed.

They were among 24,980 people to vote in Hillsdale County on Nov. 5.

Between the primary election on Aug. 6 and last week’s general election, voter registrations in the county grew by 1,059 people, according to county records certified Nov. 13.

Peed said the College Republicans registered 324 students before Election Day, while others registered with the county clerk the day of.

“I honestly did not talk with anyone that day who claimed they had not voted,” Peed said. “That isn’t to say that every student on campus definitely voted, but I hadn’t encountered one yet that didn’t either vote absentee or didn’t vote in Michigan.”

Hillsdale City Clerk Katy Price said the increase in voters was unprecedented, and most of the increase came from college students. 

According to Price, 150 voters both registered and voted on Election Day. 

“The increase is encouraging,” Hillsdale mayor Adam Stockford said. “Especially when it’s obvious the increase is a result of the young in Hillsdale taking inventory of the political process.” 

Stockford said while he is excited about this year’s turnout, he hopes young voters continue to vote in midterms and smaller local elections.

“My oldest son is 18 this year and this was his first election. I stood in line with so many at the Hillsdale library with so many first-time voters,” Stockford said. “I believe it’s the second step in what appears to be a generational transition in politics, and I think we’ll see much more of it in this county.  Now I hope the primaries will show similar results in the future. That’s where the real decisions are cast in a single-party county like Hillsdale.”

County Clerk-elect Abe Dane said while the College Republican efforts helped increase numbers, county voting registration always fluctuates.

“Registered voters vary all the time because people are constantly moving in and out,” Dane said. “Of course, for the big election, there’s always more interest and more people getting registered.”

Freshman Sarah Chappelle was a first-time voter this year and said because her home state of Texas did not need her vote as much, she voted in Michigan. 

“Texas isn’t typically a swing state, and Michigan is,” Chappelle said. “I didn’t really know the steps at all because I just turned 18, and I didn’t know how I was supposed to register, how I was supposed to go vote.”

Chappelle said the College Republicans, who provided papers to sign and pamphlets to read, were helpful.

“They had that table about a month ago out just like, ‘register to vote,’ and they just had everything ready: ‘you should sign here, here and here,’” Chappelle said. “They were like, ‘OK, put this in the mail and you’re fine,’ and it was really convenient.”

Sophomore Hershey Athysivam, also a Texas native, said voting in Michigan was not only more convenient, but she thought her vote would have more impact. 

“Michigan being a swing state, I wanted my vote to matter more,” Athysivam said. “I did not want to figure out the mail-in ballot process and I was also way too late for that — mailing a ballot back to my home state would have taken too long.”

Athysivam said she appreciated the College Republicans’ initiative of encouraging students to vote.

“I wanted to support their efforts by voting in Michigan, and they were super helpful,” Athysivam said. “It was super simple for me to just go, and if I had any questions, the college was really helpful at answering them.”

Junior Lucy Treene was one of many students who voted on Election Day. She said she forgot to apply for a mail-in ballot in her home state of Virginia, but, on Election Day, she went with two other students to register and vote in Hillsdale County.

“I didn’t really realize that you could register day-of until Hinson Peed stopped me, and he was like, ‘it’ll take 45 minutes.’ And I said, ‘sure, let’s do it.’”

Treene said she registered and voted in less than 45 minutes.

“I’m very glad I voted in Michigan. It’s important to see the students coming out, especially in this swing state in such a close election.”

Peed said the College Republicans were pleased with the results of their get-out-the-vote efforts.

“The goal was to make sure students voted, and I think we definitely accomplished that,” Peed said. “We’re very thankful to all the students who volunteered to help out. It was definitely a team effort. A lot of work went into it, and a lot of work that wasn’t necessarily asked of people, but volunteered.”