Michigan State University students endure long waits to vote

Michigan State University students stuck through long lines Tuesday night into Wednesday morning to make their voices heard.

Hundreds of students stayed in line after polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday at East Lansing City Clerk's satellite election location at Brody Hall. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum sent help for East Lansing to process registrations quicker.

Students remained unfazed, saying the lines inspired them even more to vote.

“Every vote matters," Lydia Matthews said. "Everyone should stick around and vote, no matter how long it takes.”

She voted earlier in the day and accompanied her friends Vrinda Khullar, Ananya Ramanan and Khushi Acahrya while at Brody Hall. Her three friends completed same-day registrations and voted.

Some students said without the convenience of the location, they likely would not have voted Tuesday.

Across East Lansing, 5,229 people cast their ballots in person this year. That's an increase from 3,362 in-person voters in November 2020, according to Ingham County election records.

Michigan State University spokesperson Dan Olsen said the turnout indicates a successful transition from the university's informational campaigns to both registering students and students voting. Olsen added that small hiccups happened when unregistered voters showed up at the university's other three voting sites -- Student Services Building, MSU Library and IM Sports East -- and they needed services at Brody Hall.

"We had teams ready to go around poll locations where students could be transported to Brody Hall to register and vote," he said.

East Lansing City Clerk Jennifer Shuster said Tuesday she's excited about the turnout.

“The energy is wonderful. Students are engaged in voting and exercising their right to vote,” she said. “So, this is really exciting to see them out here and taking advantage of the satellite office and our main office back at City Hall.”

A request for further comment is pending with Shuster.

Michigan State University is not alone in long waits. The University of Michigan had long lines throughout the day Tuesday at the university's Museum of Art and Duderstadt Center.

Students said earlier Tuesday they're driven to vote due to the gubernatorial race and a ballot proposal, which the Associated Press reported passed, to add abortion rights to the State Constitution.

"The right to choose is important, obviously, but I’ve already waited in line for three hours so I might as well make it worthwhile,” Phillip Beckman said.

Ashley Leckrone walked 40 minutes to Brody from Akers Hall as a requirement to vote.

Energy stayed high at the location as students and their friends brought chairs and food to make the wait easier.

Student Clarence Town was sitting on a foldable chair while waiting to vote. He got in line at 7:51 p.m. He was still waiting at 11:30.

“Every vote matters, no matter who you are,” Town said.

Roommates Amy Yang and Miranda Degrand voted together Tuesday night at Brody Hall.

“I feel like every vote counts, like every single one,” Degrand said. “When I go online and I see how many votes come in, I’m like, ‘Even just one could make a difference.’ That’s been keeping me here.”

Cole Current cast the final vote at Brody shortly after midnight Wednesday at Brody Hall. He entered the long line of students at 7:59 p.m.

“It’s a reminder to get here before 7:59 p.m. when polls close at 8 p.m.," he said. "Lesson learned, I guess.”

Jack Moreland is a news assistant at the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at jmoreland@lsj.com or 517.267.0479. Follow him on Twitter @JMoreland02. Reporters Sheldon Krause and Krystal Nurse also contributed.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State University students long waits at Brody Hall on Nov. 8