Staff Writer- Evangelyn Hill
This past Tuesday, Gusties flocked to the polls to cast their votes in this year’s midterm elections. Gustavus staff and student organizations have taken many steps to make sure students are informed and able to get to the polls.
Amy Pehrson leads the Voter Engagement organization, which, among other things, provides the shuttle bus to the polling station on election days. Pehrson shared statistics on Gustavus voter turnout in the previous (2022) midterm elections.
“Our registration rate was 87.6% of students… Our voting rate of registered students for 2022 was 67.3% (meaning of those 87% of students, 67.3% of them voted). Both of these are an increase from our 2018 midterm stats,” Pehrson explained.
Gustavus voting statistics from this year’s election are not available. However, Sophomore political science, history, and environmental studies major Charles deVries was optimistic about 2026 student voter turnout.
“I think that Gustavus has a pretty good record of student voting… almost everyone I’ve spoken to has voted already, or is pretty certain that they’re going to vote. So I think it’s looking good this year,” deVries said.
Gustavus organizations are doing a lot to encourage students to vote. Student Senate Co-President, co-founder of the Political Science Club, and Senior Laura Sunnarborg gave an overview of the voter engagement efforts on campus.
“The college offers a modified class schedule on Election Day, provides the election shuttle, and hosts voter engagement tabling with information on early voting and registration,” Sunnarborg explained. Sunnarborg also mentioned that the League of Women Voters often tables at Gustavus.
Student organizations also were involved with supporting voters, alongside college engagement. Sunnarborg mentioned that the Political Science Club held an election results watch party the evening of election day.
“Campus Democrats have done really well with getting politicians on campus,” deVries said, “just last week… Jake Johnson, who is running for US Congress, came to visit. So that’s been helpful for mobilizing people, getting to know who’s running, and what you can do with your vote.”
Student opinions and votes can have a significant impact on elections. Political Science Club and Campus Democrats member and Sophomore Sam Paulsen explained that local student voters have a big impact on St. Peter’s elections.
“We [students] are a huge population in the St. Peter community and our votes really matter and can change entire elections. In 2020, Gustavus students weren’t here because of Covid and an election was decided by just a few hundred votes,” Paulsen said.
Paulsen is also confident about students’ impact nationwide. “Many candidates and politicians come to Gustavus just to hear from us and listen to our experiences. The student turnout matters so much and changes election results by a lot… We are the future of this country and the future of democracy,” Paulsen said.
Many Gustavus students are truly passionate about their right to vote.
“This is, in my opinion, the most democratic country on earth, and if you don’t choose to exercise your rights to vote, I think you’re wasting a substantial right that the majority of the world still does not have,” deVries said.
“So many people have given up their lives just so you can have the opportunity to vote, so please let their sacrifices mean something. There are billions of people who would give up anything just to have the opportunities we have so take advantage of it. Voting is something that was earned through blood and lives and it would be a shame to waste it,” Paulsen said, echoing the same sentiment.
Issue 10 of The Weekly will include a more in-depth evaluation of 2026 Gustavus voter turnout, as well as an overview of local and national midterm election results.