Why a College Student Flew Nearly 1,600 Miles Home to Vote in the Midterms

Smith’s trip to Houston

Smith wanted to vote in the Senate contest between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton. Concerned about receiving a mail ballot on time, she accepted her father’s offer to cover a flight to Houston.

She posted about the trip on TikTok and encouraged others to vote where registration or early voting remained open. Smith told MS NOW she made the video because voting matters to her.

Young voters travel to participate

Students who live far from home or move often can face complications when voting by mail. Other students have also traveled long distances: one flew from Florida to North Carolina in 2024, while two drove from Washington, D.C., to Texas in 2020 after their ballots failed to arrive.

Ella Alvarez, a 19-year-old University of Oklahoma student, drove four and a half hours to Abilene, Texas, last week. A first-time voter, she said she had been looking forward to voting and chose to cast her ballot in person.

Alvarez voted for Democrats across the ballot, including Talarico for Senate and Gina Hinojosa for governor. Texas has drawn attention this year because both its Senate contest and governor’s race are competitive.

Motivation and its limits

The Harvard poll also found that 50% of young Democrats said they would definitely vote, compared with 34% of young Republicans. Jahnavi Rao, who leads the youth voter registration group New Voters, said social media has helped raise engagement among young people.

High enthusiasm does not guarantee a win. In 2022, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to report greater-than-usual voting enthusiasm, 59% to 48%, yet Democrats kept the Senate and the expected “red wave” did not happen.