Union students log 1,000+ miles to vote

BY MOLLIE TRAINUM

How far would you travel to ensure your voice is heard?

For Sam Shields, the answer is a 600-mile flight to Georgia, and for Samantha Zeigler, the answer is a 450-mile drive to Ohio and back. Both are Master of Divinity students at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

Sam Shields

Shields and Zeigler requested absentee ballots in the weeks prior to the election, yet did not receive them in time to mail them to their respective election offices, despite multiple attempts to resolve “clerical errors.” Both were told there had been an issue with the address they had provided and that the ballots were thus undeliverable. While Zeigler received her second ballot the day before the election, Shields never received the third ballot he requested.

A disappointed Shields went to Facebook to share his frustration with the Georgia election system, where he was met with sympathy from his friends. Dr. Samuel Adams, Union professor of Old Testament and Shields’ mentor, was the first to offer a solution to Shields’ plight.

“Can we take up a collection and fly you down there? Not joking, I will chip in,” Dr. Adams commented.

Dr. Adams says that as a Georgia native himself, he had been monitoring the Georgia governor’s race closely, and was aware of issues with the organization and distribution of absentee ballots, which he describes as “not acceptable.”

Members of the seminary community, fellow students, family, friends, colleagues, and pastors also weighed in, offering to help fund a last-minute flight to Georgia. Although hesitant at first because of his class and work schedule the following day, Shields decided to make the journey to vote. He raised the money in just 2.5 hours, and donations continued to pour in for the next 24 hours.

“By 8 p.m., I was discouraged by voting. By midnight, I had my bags packed,” Shields says. He woke up at 3 a.m., boarded his plane at 5 a.m., arrived by 9 a.m., and after invalidating the absentee ballot he never received, was finally able to vote at 10:23 a.m. Media outlets published stories on his experience including Sojourners, WWBT-TV, WTVM-TV, and Mic.

Samantha Zeigler

Meanwhile, Zeigler was experiencing car troubles and was able to obtain a ride from fellow student Catherine Parler to a Fed-Ex store so she could mail in her ballot. Upon inquiry, however, she was told her ballot likely would not make it to its destination in time to be counted. She decided immediately that she would simply have to drive home and deliver the ballot herself.

With help from another fellow student Joe Plemmons, Zeigler was able to start her car, and within the hour, she was on the road to Ohio. She arrived at her polling location around 6 p.m., and says she was greeted with amazement from election workers. “They were surprised to have somebody drive 450 miles to turn in a ballot,” she says.

Although most would not go to the lengths that these students went through to vote in a midterm election, Zeigler says, “in my family it’s not a huge deal to go way out of your way to vote. In this family we vote, and we make our voices heard.”

Shields agrees that voting is simply his responsibility. “I see it as an extension of my faith expression. We are to do justice in the world. We use the tools our society gives us. We exercise our beliefs through voting,” he says.

“It’s been remarkable to see how seriously our students take their participation in the democratic process,” Adams says. “Civic participation is a huge priority to members of the seminary community.”

Professor Sam Adams tells WWBT-TV12 reporter Terrance Dixon why he helped pay to fly student Sam Shields to Georgia to vote.

It would not be possible for the students to make these journeys without assistance from the seminary community, however. Zeigler says her professors were understanding and supportive of her choice to miss class so she could make the trip. Students offered to pay for her gas. Shields is grateful to those who helped fund his trip.

“I’m still humbled and amazed at the amount of support I have from my community, but I think it’s also important to recognize that it’s a privilege,” Shields says. “Other people do not have those resources and I’m blessed to.”

Top photo: The view from student Samantha Zeigler’s car as she drove 450-miles to Ohio to vote in her home precinct.