From: "Raleigh, Donna M." <draleigh@uwec.edu> Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 08:21:25 -0500 Subject: FW: AAUW Action Network: Critical Information for College Student Voters Message-ID: <EEA4CA65D05DC54E874A89D9F51868194FA8FCCF8F@CHERRYCOKE.uwec.edu>
FYI-and to share with students
[http://ffs.capwiz.com/aauw/images/actionnetwork.jpg]
Critical Information for College Student Voters
The following information is of particular concern to students and those wh
o work with students. AAUW is also sending this information to our branch
and state public policy leaders who engage with their local colleges and co
ordinate voter registration and turnout programs.
For many college students, as the first election in which they will be elig
ible to vote approaches, they must make a decision between registering to v
ote at their parents' address and voting absentee, or registering to vote a
t their college address so they can vote in person.
Barriers to Voting at Parents' Homes
College students face barriers to voting not faced by others. For students
who turn eighteen while they are away at college, registering to vote at th
eir parents address may require travelling home on a weekday, registering b
y mail and requesting an absentee ballot. That means navigating deadlines f
or both registrations and requesting the absentee ballot. Unfortunately, a
few states don't allow voters who registered by mail to cast their first ba
llot absentee.
Barriers to Voting at College
Students who pursue registering to vote at their college address face diffe
rent obstacles. Students living in college housing often do not have the ki
nds of documents required to show residency such as a utility bill with the
ir college street address. In addition to those barriers, many voter regist
rars in college towns have put up additional barriers to voting and spread
misinformation about eligibility requirements. Just in August, the registra
r of voters for Montgomery County, Virginia-where Virginia Tech is located-
issued a press release claiming that students who registered to vote could
no longer be claimed as dependent on their parents' tax return, could lose
health insurance coverage under their parent's plan, and could lose scholar
ships tied to their residency. Similar misinformation was disseminated by t
he El Paso County Clerk's office, where Colorado College is located.
Good Ideas for Colleges
Some colleges have made efforts to help college students register to vote a
t their college addresses. Oberlin College in Ohio issued all of its studen
ts living in campus housing utility bills that students could use as proof
of residency when registering to vote.
Registration Deadlines
Registration deadlines differ by state but several are fast approaching: Oc
t. 4 and 6 are the deadlines for several states. Rock the Vote has state vo
ter registration deadlines for all states listed on their website at http:/
/www.rockthevote.com/electioncenter<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/FNHUJGOOQU
/HLFQJGOOXV/2443304176>.
Filling out the Voter Registration Form
In addition to being prepared to show photo identification and proof of res
idency, college students should be mindful of how they fill-out the voter r
egistration application. Neither the name of a residence hall nor a mailroo
m box number will be acceptable as an address on a voter registration appli
cation. Students who live in campus housing should find out the street addr
ess of their residence hall and write down their room number in the space f
or apartment number. Students who've registered in a previous year should u
pdate their voter registration if they are not at the same address or room
number this year.
Voting Rights
Finally, anyone who has registered to vote, but upon checking-in at the pol
ling place is told that he or she is not registered has a right under the H
elp America Vote Act of 2002 to vote on a provisional ballot. Voters who ca
st a provisional ballot will be informed after Election Day whether or not
their vote has been cast, and in the event it was rejected, they will be to
ld why.
Useful links:
The Brennan Center for Justice Student Voting Rights Website has a clickabl
e map of the United States with voting requirements for each state: http://
www.brennancenter.org/studentvoting<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/FNHUJGOOQU
/FHCCJGOOXW/2443304176>.
State-by-state voter registration deadlines: http://www.eac.gov/voter/docs/
state-reg-deadlines.xls/attachment_download/file<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr
/1/FNHUJGOOQU/LOPMJGOOXX/2443304176>.
State election office contact information: http://www.eac.gov/voter/how-to-
contact-your-state-election-office<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/FNHUJGOOQU/
LLVZJGOOXY/2443304176>.
Harvard University Institute of Politics Student Voter Registration Guide:
http://www.iop.harvard.edu/Voter-Information-Center/Student-Voter-Registrat
ion-Guide<http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/FNHUJGOOQU/DCZTJGOOXZ/2443304176>.
Extensive voter information for all states can be found on the League of Wo
men Voters Education Fund website Vote411 at www.vote411.org<http://capwiz.
com/aauw/utr/1/FNHUJGOOQU/FETGJGOOYA/2443304176>.
If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please click here<http://c
apwiz.com/aauw/lmx/u/?jobid=109930204&queueid=2443304176>.
[http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/i1/FNHUJGOOQU/2443304176/img/capwizlogo.gif]
