In a close election season like this one has been, the last thing voters want are problems when trying to vote. Unfortunately for some Wichita State students, that’s exactly what they encountered. 

Joel Tieszen isn’t registered in Sedgwick County to vote. Instead he applied for an absentee ballot from Harvey County, where his home is. Though he applied three weeks ago to receive his ballot, it never came.

“I was upset,” he said. “I did everything I was supposed to do.”

Absentee voting is a major issue for college-age voters. Many students do not attend college in their home counties, and therefore must either re-register to vote or find some way to vote wherever their homes may be. This can be a challenge for students who have busy schedules.

“I could have driven home and voted, but I have class from basically 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.,” Tieszen said. 

Even those who did not have to tackle the absentee ballot issues had their share of problems Tuesday while trying to vote. Roy Moye and Sarah Cummings intended to go vote together before classes. Moye, who is originally from Missouri, checked well in advance where his polling place would be now that he is a Sedgwick County voter. 

He was told his location was at the Hughes Metroplex, and confirmed that information yesterday morning before he went to vote. After standing in line for 25 minutes, he was told his location was actually at the Wellness Center, the same place as Cummings was planning to vote later. They changed locations, but the trouble didn’t stop there. 

“Every little other thing that wasn’t Obama or a couple of the other districts just showed the Republican candidate,” Cummings said of her ballot. “You had to write in everyone else.”

Cummings said that she was happy she remembered many of the candidates’ names, but it was a challenge. 

“It was the whole page,” she said. “I was like, ‘were there really that many non-Democratic candidates?’”

Though frustrating to not see all the candidates on the ballot, at least Cummings and Moye made it to the poll without struggle. Graduate student Ann Hoskinson was told she had already voted when she went to her polling place this morning.