With election day fast-approaching, many DePaul students are scrambling to cast their votes before polls close Tuesday. Students who are studying abroad internationally, however, are given a more difficult task: submitting an absentee ballot across country lines.

Scott Ozaroski, associate director of program management for the DePaul Study Abroad program, was able to provide information about the demographics of the people who typically study abroad.

“We have students studying abroad spread across all undergraduate years, and we also have a strong number of graduate and professional students that study abroad,” Ozaroski said. “There is representation from all the colleges, but Liberal Arts & Social Sciences and the College of Business are the two with the highest number of students studying abroad.

“This fall quarter, we have over 200 students studying abroad,” he said. “There will be almost 250 more that will study abroad on short, faculty-led programs.”

Multiply this number of students by all of the colleges in the United States, and there is a sizable amount of voting-age students that are outside of the country during this critical point of the election.

According to the National Association of State Facilities Administrators (NASFA), 304,467 students studied abroad during the 2013-2014 school year, making up 1.5 percent of all U.S. students involved in higher education institutions.

Certain websites, such as IES Abroad, offer clear directions on how to vote while studying abroad.

Many universities such as Rice University and University of Hawaii also highly encourage their students to vote abroad by offering direct links to download an absentee ballot.

DePaul makes sure to keep in touch with students regarding potential health, safety or security situations, as well as preparing them to return to DePaul, but does not provide direct information on how to vote while outside the U.S.

“Absentee ballots and voting while abroad isn’t necessarily one of the standard topics we address, though it could come up in an advising session or in general,” Ozaroski said.

Molly Andolina, an associate professor at DePaul, is familiar with the “behind-the-scenes” election work. She specializes in American government, campaigns and elections, political socialization and culture and public opinion.

“In 2012, 55.9 percent of young people with at least some college experience voted, compared to just 28.6 percent of youth without any time in college,” Andolina said. “They tend to have more information about the (voting and registration process) and tend to be more likely to follow politics and political news.

“People who take the time to vote absentee are often more motivated and interested,” she said. “If a person wants to vote in the election, they will most likely do so whether they have to request an absentee ballot or whether they vote in person.”

Andolina also notes however, that “Oregon has only mail voting and they have one of the highest turnout rates in the country.” This shows that even when people must send in a ballot, they are motivated to do so and this does not deter others from voting.

College-aged students are an important demographic, but often may not decide to vote. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, voters between the ages of 18 and 24 vote less than all other age groups.  This often is because the students may not feel part of a specific community, especially when moving around to different schools or studying abroad.

Though college students do not participate as much as other age groups, they are still one of the most important demographics.

“Youth were central to Obama’s primary victory and to his re-election in 2012,” Andolina said. “This analysis showed that young people turned four states blue that would have been red, if they hadn’t voted for him in such strong numbers.

“Young people (used to reflect) the broader population in terms of vote choice,” Andolina said. “In 2004, they began to be more Democratic in their vote choice.”

Penny Leventis, a DePaul student studying abroad in Greece, has noticed the push for young people to vote even outside of the U.S during her time overseas.

“(There has been encouragement to vote), and not just by Americans, but by Europeans and Canadians,” Leventis said.

Even in Greece, citizens are fully aware of the significance of this American election.

“Everyone knows of the candidates and their stereotypes,” Leventis said. “They express their opinions and who I should vote for (but) I personally don’t really make an effort to bring up American political issues.”

However, her time studying abroad has educated her on political crises facing other countries.

“When talking with fellow Greeks we tend to talk about the current political and economic crisis they are in,” Leventis said.

Though there is clearly a push to vote, Leventis has decided not to on her own accord.

“I decided not to vote because I (dislike) both options and Illinois votes Democratic regardless.”

Leventis’s attitude reflects the attitude of many college students across the country, debating whether or not to vote at all.

Every vote counts, however, especially college students’ votes.

Election Day is tomorrow. Regardless of political beliefs, make sure to get out to the polling stations or send in your absentee ballot in order to get your voice heard.