With young people having the lowest voter turnout, it is important that we encourage our friends and classmates to vote. An overarching concern as election day draws near is: how do I vote if I will not be in my state of residency on voting day? This is a drawback for a lot of students who want to vote but are not in their state of residency. It is important that we take the time to research and educate ourselves in order to take full advantage of the impact us young people might have.
Luckily, there is another option! An absentee ballot is a ballot that is completed and sent in prior to the election by a voter who is unable to be present at the polling station. This is something a lot of out-of-state college students do not know about or are just not interested in. However, an absentee ballot request takes about two minutes to fill out.
The process is simple. All I had to do was select the state of my residency, which is Illinois, then select “Absentee Ballot Request” on the website. It will then ask for state-related data that you enter on the website. Once you have all the necessary information filled out, the system will process your information to make sure it matches their records. Then you are able to submit your request and you will receive your ballot by mail shortly after! It did not take more than a week to receive mine in the mail.
Help your out-of-state friends in order to get our generation’s voices out there!
Body photos from Unsplash.com