Students from JLMC 2010 contributed interviews to this article.

On and off-campus polling stations had many student voters experience the process and liberty of voting for the first time.

Andrew Stoelting, a sophomore in marketing, voted for the first time Tuesday and saw it as a valuable opportunity.

“It’s a pretty important thing,” Stoelting said. “I feel good that I’m able to participate in something that the rest of the United States is [doing]. [The process] was done very professionally. It was pretty easy to do.”

Stoelting said that voting, to him, is about the future.

“In a sense, it’s going to affect not only me but my kids in the future and the people I surround myself with,” Stoelting said.

Roger Claude, a senior in materials engineering, is a second-time voter, but it was his first time voting in person.

“I did it in person this time, so that feels inherently different than just writing it down online and mailing it in or whatever I did last time,” Claude said. “It feels better to vote in person than the mail.”

Claude said that voting is necessary for the government to function properly.

“It’s a representative democracy,” Claude said. “It’s nice to see that happening somewhat.”

Josh Bauman, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said it’s essential to vote despite how votes are counted in the United States.

“I think it’s important to vote,” Bauman said. “Although the Electoral College doesn’t quite bring up my popular vote, I still think it’s important to vote. It’s also relevant for more local elections where, through my mail-in ballot, I was voting for, I believe, some representatives inside the Minnesota Senate, so that’s also important because that’s more directly related to me.”

Bauman also believes that the outcome will greatly affect him.

“First of all, you can look at it from an economic standpoint,” Bauman said. “One of Trump’s leading policies when it comes to the economy is tariffs, and I highly disagree with his tariffs because at the end of the day, the American people will be paying the increase[d] prices.”

Bauman also mentioned personal rights and civil rights.

“There’s Project 2025 which Trump says he’s not a part of, but then you have 140 of his people that work for him, work with him, that are part of it,” Bauman said. “He also receives money from that pad fund, and I highly disagree with the goals of Project 2025. I think they can directly impact anybody’s personal rights… I think that’s very dangerous and goes against our constitution.”

Jackson Sperry, a sophomore in public relations, mailed his ballot.

“I voted by mail earlier this week in Minnesota, and I chose Minnesota because my whole family still lives there,” Sperry said. “I thought that it’s probably more beneficial because that’s more of my community than it is in Ames.”

Sperry, however, is uncomfortable with the election.

“It keeps ramping up, and I wish that the presidential election wasn’t always the most important election of your life,” Sperry said. “I just want a semi-normal life where my life isn’t going to change drastically if one candidate wins or the other.”

Jackson acknowledges the differences between the candidates and said a lot of it is overblown.

“I think life will go on whether it’s good or bad,” Sperry said. “I don’t think I’m gonna see a drastic shift in my status.”