As clouds hovered over SMU’s campus, students and local residents lined up at the polling place at Hughes Trigg Student Center Tuesday, eager to cast their ballots in the election. For many first-time voters, like junior engineering major Delaney Prebble, 20, voting was an honor and a duty that is vital for every American to participate in.

“I’ve been looking forward to participating in election season since I was little,” Prebble said.“I’m voting because I care about the future of our country, and as a young citizen, I believe we are the future, and we are the ones who will make change happen.”

In the early morning, lines at Hughes Trigg remained long as people began queuing up as early as 7 a.m. and patiently waited to vote.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 466 voters cast ballots at the SMU voting center location, according to the Dallas County Elections Department website. As of Tuesday in Dallas County, 660,148 in-person and mail-in votes, or 44.9 percent of registered voters, were cast during early voting in Dallas County, according to the Texas Secretary of State Office website.

A variety of issues brought voters to the vote center on SMU’s campus.

“Healthcare rights are a significant reason I am voting, especially considering the younger generations that will be impacted,” said Jack Meehan, 22, a senior engineering student at SMU.

Throughout the lines, discourse about essential topics that will impact voters, such as inflation, immigration, and women’s rights, were discussed.

SMU senior physics student Hannah Siegel, 22, was interested in two major races on the ballot, the U.S. presidential race between U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and the race for the Texas seat in the U.S. Senate between incumbent Ted Cruz and Colin Allred.

“There’s a lot of issues that these candidates are talking about that are really important to me, especially one of them being Israel as a Jewish-American,” Seigel said.

SMU played a vital role in encouraging students and faculty to vote, said Daniel Margolis, a graduate student majoring in applied math, 32.

“I am in Student Senate and a democracy fellow, which encouraged me to vote, so I did,” he said.

Voters began their day early at another nearby polling place at Northway Christian Church, at 7202 W. Northwest Highway in Dallas, where Thomas John, 53, returned to the country after a lengthy work trip to ensure he could vote on Election Day.

“I just decided [who to vote for] this morning,” John said. “It’s my civil obligation to do this.”

Connor, 24, who asked that his last name not be used, elected to vote on Tuesday rather than voting early to experience the in-person voting option.

“I’ve never done it before in person, and I just wanted to try it out,” he said. “It was pretty nice.”

The voter experience, whether on election day, early voting, or via absentee ballot, is not the most significant priority for voters, though. Polarizing views from each respective party are commanding the attention of voters. Abortion rights are a leading factor for voters like Belinda Keeley, 54, a resident of Dallas.

“According to the rhetoric, [the election] sounds contentious,” Keeley said. “It is important to vote in general so we can make our voices heard.”

Will Durkee, 42, said he is more concerned about issues surrounding a local school board rather than the presidency itself.

“There are some local issues for the school board, raising some money, a school bond for the local school district,” Durkee said. “I mean, I did a protest vote in the presidential one because I think they’re both utterly unacceptable choices.”

Durkee didn’t want to give more details.

Back at SMU’s Hughes Trigg voting center, lines continued to grow with a bustling atmosphere as the afternoon approached. Voters left the polls proudly displaying their “I Voted” stickers, knowing that their vote was impactful.

Polls will remain open until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5.