CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Nick Scott wasn’t sure how he was going to vote in the upcoming federal election.
Raised on P.E.I., he graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) this year and is now working in Halifax. He wasn’t keen to vote by mail because he felt it could be risky.
“I prefer to vote in person because I feel like there’s less opportunity to screw up.”
He was back on-Island for a conference over the weekend, so he decided to swing by his alma mater to take advantage of its advanced polling stations. The stations were set-up on the first floor of Bill & Denise Andrew Building at UPEI in Charlottetown and will be there until Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Having advanced polling on campus enables students to fit voting into their busy schedules, Scott said.
“I think bringing the election to students makes sense.”
As a recent graduate, he thinks it’s important for students to vote because it is one of few ways for students to have their voices heard politically.
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t.”
An Elections P.E.I. officer at the UPEI advanced polls said not many people were coming to vote on Saturday, Oct. 5, but they expected to have more during the school week.
Advanced polls are happening in over 115 campuses across Canada from Oct. 5 to 9, including UPEI and Holland College in Charlottetown.
Post-secondary voting stations were open over the weekend, and the weekday hours are Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Holland Colleges’ stations are in the Centre for Applied Science and Technology.
Compared to the last election he voted in, Scott said hasn’t felt any change in the urgency to vote. He said noticed particular topics are more of a focus this election, with immigration and the climate crisis being the highlights for him.
He admits he’s not informed on everything when it comes to politics.
“(But) there are certain topics that are very important to me,” he said. “It’s more important to just focus on the things you care about.”