Why Get out The Vote Programs for College Students May be Focusing on the Wrong Problems

I wanted to offer some unsolicited thoughts about some of the difficulties of registering students on college campuses and driving voter turnout. 

A lot of the public conversation on these issues tends to center around driving up interest, fighting perceived apathy, etc. These are all serious and important, but I think it misses out on a major barrier to college student voting that is much more focused on the less exciting but more solvable problems of process and bureaucracy.
In my time working on this, I saw very little apathy but a lot of wariness that they do not want to screw anything up... by filling out the wrong form at the wrong time. 
A pause to explain my qualifications to speak on this issue. While it was now some time ago, I was a student at the University of Missouri where I led the university's non-partisan voter registration and turnout drive for the 2002 midterms. In that election, we registered over 1,000 new student voters and increased turnout compared to the '98 midterm by over 200%. Again, this experience is dated, but I suspect many of the same issues are faced by students today as the underlying issues I saw have not changed. I'm lucky in that I had a natural knack for procedure and bureaucracy (I worked in the Federal Civil Service for 11 years as well) and I continue to serve as an Election Warden in my local elections in Massachusetts. 

Broadly, the major problems we encountered were these:
  • Students move to campus in August or September. Registration deadlines tend to be in early-October (or earlier!). For freshmen (and some others), this is their first time away from home, their first time unpacking, meeting new people, self-motivating to study, do laundry, and take care of their environments. They may be overwhelmed in University paperwork for registration, student loans, work-study, etc. It's easy to see how voter registration forms would fall low in their attention. Even for those returning to campus, almost certainly at a new address, seeking out additional paperwork may not be pursued in a timely fashion. In short, the deadline to register is very specifically difficult for people who have systematically just moved. 
    • Given how many adults don't change their registration promptly upon moving (and since I work as an Election Warden in my Town, I can tell you it's LOTS of them), we are setting a very high bar for students.
  • For those looking to vote absentee, the same deadline issues usually apply, so even leaving the registration as-is does not always make things easier. Additionally, in some states (at least in 2002), a notary was required to attest to the signing of the ballot envelope. While more progressive places barred charging for the notary process, finding a notary in a new town is not always trivial, especially if you do not have a local bank branch since you just moved somewhere new.
  • Among the student body who is in-touch with bureaucratic issues, there is concern about registering to vote where they go to school.  They may be:
    • Unaware they are allowed to since it isn't their permanent residence (something they fill out often on other forms).
    • (If an out-of-state student at a public university) Fearful that it will make it look as if they are trying to improperly claim residency. 
    • Concerned their registration does not match the location of their drivers license (especially in states that require ID to vote) 
    • Unsure if it will affect their ability to be claimed as a dependent on taxes 
    • Scared they will be unable to stay on their parents' health insurance
    • etc.
I was very fortunate in that the Boone County (MO) Clerk at the time was devoted to helping create access for students by working with my student organization, training us on the various laws, and deputizing us to receive voter registration forms on her behalf. Not all students in all counties are so lucky. 

In my time working on this, I saw very little apathy but a lot of wariness that they do not want to screw anything up in terms of their tuition, financial aid, health insurance coverage and the like by filling out the wrong form at the wrong time. 

Organizations looking to drive turnout among college-aged students could do a lot of good by helping to engage students on these messy, unsexy, bureaucratic details. Having national resources available to local volunteers would be especially valuable as the answer to these questions can vary by location of the student's college as well as their parent's location (especially for absentee balloting).

I'm happy to continue this conversation with anyone who may run across this post. 

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