Life seems meaningless to me, but I operate within a loose framework of underlying moral principles which inform my worldview and influence the choices I make. Voting and hydrating seem so essential to the existential human reality that I consider them a sort of fundamental human right. Morals may be socially constructed, but voting and drinking water seem like necessary and just prerogatives. My status as an out-of-state college student has affected my capacity to do both.

I’d followed Stacey Abrams for months; as the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Abrams spoke eloquently and promised to lead my state forward. I sent  in my application for an absentee ballot in mid-August. The application was simple: I copied my driver’s license number, my email address (I even used my Wake Forest email so Brian Kemp would think I’m a conservative affluent white person and not suppress my vote), my home address, and my Winston-Salem Post Office Box number.

I received a call towards the end of October from a fellow Georgia citizen informing me that my application for an absentee ballot had been rejected. She informed me that the Registrar wouldn’t send any ballots to P.O. boxes, only street addresses. She also emphasized her lack of government affiliation — she was from a local volunteer group paroozing the voting registrar for cases like mine. I passive-aggressively filed a new application, listing my address as 1834 Wake Forest Road, and sent my new and improved application the next morning. Why hadn’t I received word when my application was rejected?

One week later, I’ve seen no updates on the voter registration website my non-governmental informant referred me to. After calling the registrar’s office, I’m told my application hadn’t been received.  However, I offered an alternative to email my application to the registrar’s office. I received notification the next day that my ballot had been issued. I checked my P.O box every day, but didn’t see my coveted envelope until the night before the election.

Voting should be easy. My status as a college student shouldn’t affect my ability to voice my opinion. My vote may have been silenced. Striving to gain an education should never inhibit one’s participation in politics.