Click here for updates on this story
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KCTV/KSMO) — One college student was so committed to voting in the election that she drove hours from her university in another state to do it.
Polling experts expect young voters to turn out in record numbers for the midterms this year. One Harvard study predicts more than a third of Americans aged 18 to 29 will cast a ballot on Tuesday.
On Saturday, one Johnson County college student told KCTV5 News why it was important to her to make a trip home to visit the polls.
Voting in her first general election is a must for Hannah Nuss, who is a sophomore at Drake University in Iowa.
She had planned to simply mail in an absentee ballot, but then she got a voicemail from the Johnson County, Kansas Election Office last week that told her there was a problem with her absentee registration.
However, Nuss wouldn’t let the mix-up or her college workload keep her from voting.
“I wanted to make sure my voice was heard,” she said
“I have two exams next week and an essay due Sunday night,” she added.
Nuss doesn’t have a car, either, so she hitched a ride with a friend to her home in Johnson County.
“If it wasn’t for the kindness of people I knew, my vote wouldn’t be counted,” she said. “The drive from Iowa is a boring straight shot.”
It took a three-hour trip home, but she did make it to her polling place.
“I had my ID triple checked,” she said. “I had my ballot with me and I was like, ‘I have everything with me, please let me vote.’”
Her mother snapped photos of her successfully voting in person.
“It was a nice surprise last night, and to hang out with her today and take her to vote,” said Theresa Nuss, her mother.
Nuss is 19 years old and passionate about this particular election.
“We’re listening,” she said. “We’re paying attention.”
She’s encouraging other young people to cast their vote, even if it means a road trip home.
“If I can do it, you can do it,” she said.
She said the most important election issue to her is education funding.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
