Calls to 
 Action 

Uncertainty over voting conditions for a fast-approaching election calls for fast action. The U.S. Supreme Court
has repeatedly ruled that voting conditions are controlled by states, including a recent procedural ruling
allowing Texas to deny voters access to voting by mail and, in another case, that Wisconsin can refuse to
change voting methods even if COVID provides serious health risks. Decentralization has resulted in a morass of
inconsistent and confusing registration and voting conditions that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and
calls for changes to voting rules. Uncertainty and unnecessary inconvenience are bad for all voters, but they
uniquely affect the nation’s 20 million college and university students.

 

Going into the 2020 election, it is helpful to know more context. Generally, students register to vote at rates
commensurate to the general population, but too few students go on to vote. Students living on or near
campus who register there tend to vote at higher rates, but students who are registered away from campus
(e.g., at their parents’ address) turn out at lower rates. There is also evidence that students vote provisionally
more than other voters, that those provisional ballots are not only over-relied on but also disproportionately
rejected compared to other voters, and that students’ absentee or mailed-in ballots are similarly rejected at
disproportionately higher rates. Absent interventions, the removal of barriers to voting by mail, and education,
voting rates for students will be low in 2020.

 

The goal of this memorandum is to provide college and university leaders with the information they need to
advocate for voting laws and conditions that encourage and enable student voting, both during this pandemic
and after. We believe this crisis both demands immediate action and provides an opportunity for institutions to
advocate for increased student access to voting in the long term.

 

Many states are currently sorting through the threat of COVID-19 and concerns over the health and safety of
voters, poll workers, elected officials, and candidates. All states can receive federal funding to update their
election systems due to the pandemic, and many Secretaries of State or legislative commissions are hosting
hearings on prospective changes this summer. This presents an opportunity to demand reforms that make
voting easier for students, which, in turn, helps all voters. Given their prominence as leaders in states and
communities, college and university presidents can play an essential role in removing technical barriers to
voting, preventing voter confusion, and demanding recognition of students’ constitutional right to vote,
protected by the Twenty-Sixth Amendment.

 

This memo contains recommendations on:

• Where students who attend a college or university away from their prior address, such as their parents’ address, can register to vote and vote,

• Identification requirements and what institutions can do to ensure that students have the proper identification to prove residency consistent with their right to vote from campus, and

• How presidents/chancellors can use their influence to promote reforms around online registration, excuse-free mail-in voting, modernizing mail-in voting systems, early voting with extended hours, convenient polling and drop box locations on campus, and voter education.

 

We offer descriptions and talking points for each. Some interventions are necessary due to the pandemic, and all are best practices that should continue after the pandemic ends. While this memorandum sets out reform recommendations leading up to and following the 2020 Election, it is not legal advice.

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