Students could swing the (Electoral) College

College-age voters may make all the difference in this year’s election, but university apathy and, in some jurisdictions, deliberate manipulation are preventing them from getting out to the polls.

      To begin with, universities are failing to distribute registration materials they are required by law to provide. In September, fewer than 17 percent had complied with the Higher Education Act provision requiring a good faith effort to register young voters, according to a survey by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and the Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Even with registration materials in hand, students often are confronted with confusing or erroneous information. Biased election officials have warned students they will jeopardize financial aid, car insurance, health insurance and driver’s license if they vote outside their “permanent address,” although the courts have clearly ruled that students have a right to vote in the state where they attend school.

At Prairie View A&M, a majority black university in a white area of Texas, students filed suit claiming voter intimidation after the district attorney told them they would be prosecuted for declaring residency and voting locally. A voter registrar told University of Arizona students they would be committing a felony if they registered as permanent residents for the vote. In These Times documents a Republican secretary of state in Minnesota who tried to tighten identification requirements for registration and developed a difficult application form that deters new voters.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement estimates that 40.6 million Americans make up the 18- to 29-year-old age group—a powerful voting block that Democrats are vigorously pursuing despite these setbacks. A New York Times analysis says America Votes will help constituents—including labor unions—spend $300 million to get new voters registered in time for the election. The coalition of member organizations dedicated to improving election participation concentrates on neighborhoods known to vote Democrat. Its results are impressive: Voter registration in swing-state Ohio has soared 250 percent in areas traditionally Democrat, and increased just 12 percent in Republican areas. In Duval County, Fla., new registrations are up 150 percent among African-American voters, many of whom were disqualified due to confusing ballot design in 2000.

Do your part to make sure college students get into the mix.