On the first day of early voting Thursday, Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Ken Ulman stood outside Stamp Student Union with local state delegates urging university students to vote.

While the election doesn’t take place until Nov. 4, registered voters can cast ballots Oct. 23 through Oct. 30 at the College Park Community Center on Pierce Avenue or one of seven other locations throughout this county. 

“I think our generation is more inclined to vote when they can do it on their own terms,” said Luke Pinton, Student Government Association government affairs director. “I have this feeling that our generation isn’t about the whole Nov. 4 big-day event as much as they are about absentee balloting and early voting. You just go whenever you want, show up and vote at your own leisure.” 

Ulman said he is “feeling good” about his chances in the election, but he said his campaign is working around the clock to reach out to voters and promote early voting. 

“You just run through the finish, run like you’re down,” Ulman said. “There are 12 days to go; we’ll sleep on Nov. 5.” 

Ulman said he spoke with students about tuition costs, Purple Line construction, the environment and job creation.

A Baltimore Sun poll released Wednesday showed Democratic Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown leading Republican Larry Hogan by 7 percent, slightly closer than in a previous poll from this university and The Washington Post, which had the gap at 9 percent. 

State Del. Ariana Kelley (D-Montgomery) was also in front of Stamp talking to potential voters. She has been in office for four years and said she frequently reaches out to student groups to suggest legislation.

“I love engaging students and making sure they vote, because having students involved in the process elevated the student voices, and their concerns are my concerns; so when they vote, we get to do the things that are important to students,” she said. 

Andrew Platt, 25, is running unopposed in the general election and is set to become the youngest member of the House of Delegates as a representative of District 17 (Montgomery). He said he supports the Brown-Ulman campaign because of its pledge to keep college tuition rates low, adding that he hopes to one day provide free tuition at public universities and make this state “a national model for higher education.” 

The event yesterday was organized by this university’s chapter of College Democrats, which has been in contact with the campaign members for weeks. The group decided the first day of early voting was the best time for Ulman to campaign on the campus.

“Ken Ulman and Anthony Brown have a proven record of fighting for higher education, fighting for students, lower tuition costs, smaller class sizes and directing new facilities and schools around the state,” said College Democrats President Ben Kramer. “I think they’re the best to be able to deliver on that.”

Hogan released a statement Oct. 22 claiming Brown’s “efficiency plan” suggests raising community college tuition and eliminating school breakfast funding to cut state spending. 

“His destructive cuts would hurt the most vulnerable in our state,” Hogan said in a press release. “College students have already had to bear the burden of the increasing cost of college and regressive tax increases, including an increase in the sales tax which affects the price of everything from school supplies to textbooks, as well as the gas tax, and a variety of increased fees. The Lt. Governor has made it more difficult for these bright young students to get ahead at every turn.”

Hogan was also in Prince George’s County on Thursday, making a stop at the Bowie Senior Center before going to Baltimore, campaign manager Adam Dubitsky said.