ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With the Nov. 3 general election less than a month away, students at USF’s St. Petersburg campus are weighing candidates and ballot issues as they prepare to vote.

Students on campus said their reasons for voting vary, but several pointed to local issues, statewide ballot measures and candidate stances as factors shaping their decisions.

Cooper Bullard, a chemical engineering student at USF, said he turned 18 in March and plans to vote in his first election.

“I think a lot of it is the novelty of it, but also I’ve just had that instilled in me since I was really young,” Bullard said. “I think it’s important to vote. I think people don’t realize that if everybody thinks that their impact doesn’t matter, then nothing will happen.”

Bullard said he has been studying his St. Petersburg ballot, including Amendment 3, the Homestead tax exemption and a possible tax increase in St. Petersburg for storm infrastructure projects.

“Honestly, that’s what I care more about than the candidates, because I feel like they’re going to do what they’re going to do, no matter what, when they’re in office,” Bullard said. “But that’s something that I have a direct impact on.”

Other students said candidate positions are driving their choices. Cormac Hummel, a marketing student at USF, said land use is one of his top issues.

“I don’t want data centers built on public Florida land,” Hummel said.

Sasha Brown, a digital communications student at USF, said she is voting for the second time in Tampa and wants to know where candidates stand on issues including abortion and immigration.

“I just feel like everything is biased,” Brown said. “A lot of stuff that you learn from is bias, and I feel like you’re not going to actually make the change you want if you don’t know anything about it.”

Not every student on campus will vote on Florida issues. Adelaide Murray, a business analytics student at USF and a North Carolina resident, said she will be voting by mail.

Murray said she believes voters should support leaders who speak out about systemic issues.

“For me, the most important thing that I’ve been seeing is the things about the Cornell thing and just — the leaders that are in place are the people who can actually make changes,” Murray said.

The voter registration deadline has already passed. Mail-in ballots must be requested by Oct. 22, and early voting begins Oct. 24.