When thinking about voting accessibility, one may think of only a small group of people. However, voting accessibility actually affects a lot of people, ranging from lower income people to disabled people.
One demographic that seems to be forgotten is college students, specifically students that are living on college campuses.
Amanda Burke, a senior at Sonoma State, introduced a new point of view, “I think it personally depends on the state that the college student is living in. There are states that push voting more than others.”
However, it is all dependent on the student and whether they see voting as a form of power and control that an individual can have in the government.
To expand on her idea, Burke stated, “Having someone to explain what each proposition means would be more helpful.” Voting can be tricky, especially if you are unfamiliar with all the political lingo that appears on ballots.
To make voting more accessible for college students, the Senate is deciding on the For the People Act (also known as HR 1) which can make voting an easier process for students. One of the things that this act warrants is using colleges or universities as polling places, which would help a lot of college students that do not have a car on campus.
On college campuses, there would be a “campus vote coordinator” who would be in charge of getting election information to students. This information includes “voter registration, polling locations and how to find transportation to polling locations.”
This also includes some states to allow same-day voter registration, which would be a “fail-safe” for students. It would also lead to a higher turnout rate, along with expanding mail voting, and allow no-excuse absentee voting according to Michael Burns, national director of the Campus Vote Project. Campuses that go above and beyond would be rewarded by the For the People Act.
Another benefit this act includes is all states have two weeks of early in-person voting, even on weekends. Along with having at least 10 hours a day of voting, this will extend the traditional voting times of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by four hours.
By increasing the voting hours, this can also benefit the local community, as seen with Clarissa Unger, project director of Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. She stated, “Just as important is having local folks who are a part of the community or embedded within the campuses who can welcome young people and student voters into the process.”
However, Hans von Spakovsky, former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission and senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, expresses that there may be some concerns such as students being double registered in different states, like if a student goes to college out of state.
In the future, maybe the government will take into consideration what Burke suggested, “The college could offer ride shares or free rides to voting polls if distance and money is an issue. Everyone, especially those that are underprivileged, deserve voting access and rights.”
Sometimes one may get tense because they may miss out on big elections, and it is true that mail voting is an option. But college students deserve more options if they find mail voting to be untrustworthy or if they prefer in person voting. Everyone deserves voting privileges, regardless of party affiliation, economic class, race, gender, or religion.
