Terps Go Big at the Ballot Box

On Election Day, Brylee Boyden ’30 came to the Adele H. Stamp Student Union prepared to vote for the first time. She’d brought proof of her on-campus residency for same-day registration along with a clear direction in which she wanted to see the state and country move. What surprised her wasn't the content on the ballot for the Prince George's County precinct. It was the almost-comical size.  

“I wasn’t expecting the sheets of paper to be so big,” Boyden, an aerospace engineering major from Nanjemoy, Md., said after casting her vote. 

That paper reflected what’s at stake in the 2026 midterm elections, with races spanning local school boards, county offices, governor and congressional seats. Terps who voted on campus were motivated by a sense of civic responsibility, a desire to assert their opinions and the thrill of finally being old enough to participate in a democratic tradition they’d watched their parents take part in for years.  

“It’s just the right thing to do,” said Delasy Amuzu ’29, a neuroscience major from Odenton, Md. “I really wanted to do it this year. A lot is happening in our country right now.”

Young voters (ages 18-29) hold the potential to swing races around the nation. They just need to show up: An estimated 25.5% of eligible young voters in the U.S. participated in the 2022 midterm elections, compared to 46.1% of the full voting-eligible population. (The turnout rate was 46.5% in Maryland.) But numbers are expected to rise this year: As of a week ago, 3% more youth nationally have registered to vote this year compared to the same time four years ago.

TerpsVote, a nonpartisan coalition of students, staff and faculty dedicated to increasing civic engagement on campus, treated Tuesday like its Super Bowl Sunday.

Just inside the Stamp’s front entrance, it had set up a table full of literature on voting and Chick-fil-A mini sandwiches to welcome Terps looking for guidance on how and where to vote. Its Party at the Polls, part of a national movement, also invited Terps to pose in a photo booth, make buttons, win prizes and learn about voting.  

Courtney Holder, assistant director of leadership and community service-learning at the Stamp and a TerpsVote coalition member, estimated that more than 750 Terps had talked with staffers there by 3:30 p.m. They wanted to know if they could vote at Stamp, how to postmark and mail their last-minute absentee ballots, and how to find their polling place if they weren’t registered to vote with their campus address.

“It’s an important rite of passage to be able to vote, and an important step to be part of their communities and be civically engaged,” said Holder.

Rowan Bruck ’28, an information science major from Odenton, Md., who cited affordability as a top priority, had been looking forward to voting for years. “I took an AP government class in high school where they really emphasized the importance of your vote,” Bruck said. “I don’t really buy into the idea that your vote doesn’t matter.”

College-aged voters are bucking the narrative that young people today are disengaged and disaffected, said Anderson Harlor ’28, a student intern with TerpsVote working at the Party at the Polls table. “We’re by no means an apathetic group. I’m very, very excited to see what people my age can do.”