“When Kamala Harris [chose Tim Walz for VP], that made me switch my vote to Harris.”

Korbin Rumeliote is a second-year mechanical engineering student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This was his first election, and he voted early by mail. Originally, he was planning to vote for the Green Party candidate, but Harris’s choice of running mates changed his mind, persuading him to vote blue.

Colton Pemble: What made you decide to vote?

Korbin Rumeliote: It’s everyone’s right to vote. It’s important, like the person that is basically going to lead the country. I know there’s other branches like there’s Senate and representatives, but the president is the person. So I feel like everyone should vote if they’re able to.

Colton Pemble: Does being in Wisconsin make you more motivated to vote?

Korbin Rumeliote: No, not really. I don’t think about swing states; I just think about what I want to vote.

Colton Pemble: What about Harris stands out to you?

Korbin Rumeliote: Well, one thing that stood out is that I’m very for people’s rights, as in abortion. And Donald Trump, he’s Republican, and they usually want to ban abortion, so I didn’t want that to be banned. So, I voted for Kamala Harris because she’s pro-choice.

Colton Pemble: Did Biden dropping out from the election persuade you, more or less, to vote?

Korbin Rumeliote: It honestly persuaded me more, because I was originally going to vote for Jill Stein, which is the Green Party. But then when Kamala Harris replaced the Democratic choice with Tim Walz as the VP or running mate, that made me switch my vote to Kamala Harris.

Colton Pemble: What about Walz persuaded you?

Korbin Rumeliote: I’m from Minnesota, and so I thought he was a good choice.

Colton Pemble: That’s really interesting because often people argue the VP pick doesn’t make much difference, but here you are kind of arguing the opposite.

Korbin Rumeliote: Yeah, because, I don’t know, it’s the so-called second-in-command kind of. I forget which amendment it is, but if Kamala Harris drops dead for whatever reason, then the vice president is the next in line, so I feel that’s still an important consideration when casting your vote.