All classes on Election Day — with the exception of labs and required meetings — will be held asynchronously. Credit: Cody Copeland vid TNS[original caption: Tarrant County resident Janet Jones fills out a mock mail-in ballot at the public test of the county's elections on Sept. 16, 2024. Credit: Cody Copeland via TNS]

All classes on Election Day — with the exception of labs and required meetings — will be held asynchronously. Credit: Cody Copeland via TNS [original caption: Tarrant County resident Janet Jones fills out a mock mail-in ballot at the public test of the county’s elections on Sept. 16, 2024.]

For the first time in university history, all classes on Election Day — with the exception of labs and required meetings — will be held asynchronously to encourage students to hit the polls. 

The grassroots effort, which was spearheaded by Undergraduate Student Government representatives in the University Senate, began in 2022 after students voiced concerns about full class schedules impeding them from voting. In an effort to resolve this issue, USG will conduct a trial run in 2024, said Angad Dhillon, a USG representative for the Council for Enrollment and Student Progress, also known as CESP.

Dhillon, also a fourth-year in microbiology, said the trial run’s success is highly dependent on whether or not students take advantage of the opportunity.

“There’s a lot of organizations that tell you to get out to vote, but I think one of the biggest challenges for students to vote is just they don’t have the time day to do it,” Dhillon said. “Students voice concerns, time and time again, about the lack of flexibility or the long lines at the Union, and we hope this gives them the opportunity to get out and vote.”

According to the university’s website, asynchronous learning allows students to learn on their own schedule within a certain timeframe. This boosts flexibility by granting access to lectures, readings, homework assignments and other learning materials at any time during a one- or two-week period.

“The goal is that there is no class either in person or online where students have to log on at a certain period of time during the day,” Dhillon said. “The ideal goal would be that a professor can assign a discussion, post an assignment — such as ‘watch a video, answer these questions’ — and students have the ability to do their work at any point in the day so they can get to the polls.”

Dhillon said he worked alongside current USG President Bobby McAlpine to bring students’ voting-related concerns to the university’s attention.

“We believe a big part of citizenship is voting, and we want to help emphasize Ohio State’s education for citizenship initiative,” McAlpine said. “We hope this allows students and faculty alike the opportunity to go out, and vote and work the polls.”

Daniel Thompson, math professor and subcommittee chair for CESP, said talks of the resolution began in December 2022, and subsequently garnered support from the University Senate due to letters received from USG advocating on behalf of student interest in the initiative.

“At some point, the question really became, ‘How do we do this?’” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, we had to conclude that canceling classes and changing the calendar would be impossible, so we came to the compromise of having an asynchronous learning day.”

Thompson said though the resolution is intended to be a trial run, the plan’s implementation in later years hinges upon whether or not students embrace this chance to cast their votes.

“The best thing that students can do to ensure that this is a success and goes forward is just be involved — make the most of it, take the opportunity to use your voice, and if you’re feeling like volunteering, do that as well,” Thompson said.