Every election season, we’re all encouraged—from every direction—to put in our vote. But it seems like the hoops we have to jump through to make that happen can sometimes feel too stressful on top of everything else that comes with college life. Many of you might vaguely remember filling out a voter registration form at some point in high school. However, if you attend an out-of-state college, you’ll probably need to register to vote specifically in the state in which you currently reside to vote in the upcoming elections (unless you’re planning on flying or driving back to your hometown just to cast a ballot). You’ll probably be relieved to hear that as of last year, twenty states now offer online voter registration, making it easier than ever before to register! While most all college campuses usually provide voter registration tables in common quad areas around election season, we’re guessing many of you were probably too busy running off to class to stop by, or simply didn’t want to face another written assignment. This resource not only makes it simpler; it’s also helping to make registration more accessible to certain populations that were previously neglected, such as persons with disabilities and non-English speakers. If that isn’t an incentive enough for states to adopt this tool, online registration can also save states millions of dollars in the implementation of this system. Talk about a win-win situtation!
The map below will help you figure out if the state in which you attend school provides online registration:
If your state isn’t highlighted, no worries. There are still several (totally manageable!) ways to register. All states provide a form you can download off of their board of elections website, and all you have to do is complete it and mail it in before the deadline. If that’s too difficult, eleven states (including D.C.) also offer the holy grail for busy college students: same-day voter registration. Essentially if you can get yourself to a voting center, you can vote even if you forgot to pre-register.
As for motivation, we hope that you will have more than enough when we remind you that issues such as student debt and federal aid, same-sex marriage rights, taxes, the environment and healthcare will all be on table in this year’s legislative agenda, in preparation for the 2016 presidential race. These are policies that will affect every aspect of our lives, so be sure to make your voice heard!