Historically, American young adults have voted at the lowest rates of any age group during national elections. College students in particular face unique barriers in both registering to vote and voting. Having long served as incubators of civic engagement, institutions of higher education can offer students a smooth entry into our democratic process by helping to reduce ambiguity and uncertainty around registering and voting.
Currently, Title IV of the Higher Education Act mandates that institutions of higher education make a “good-faith effort” to distribute voter registration forms to students, but that language lacks clarity and a mechanism to ensure colleges and universities comply.
The Help Students Vote Act would strengthen this provision by adding much needed guidance on how institutions of higher education can ensure their students have the resources they need to register to vote.
The undersigned organizations and campuses support the Help Students Vote Act:
ACPA-College Student Educators International
Alliance for Youth Action
American Political Science Association
Andrew Goodman Foundation
APIAVote
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
Associated Students of Madison
Association of Big Ten Students (ABTS)
Association of Young Americans
Baltimore Rising
Black Girls Vote
Campus Compact
Campus Vote Project
Center for American Progress Action
Center for Civic Justice at Stony Brook University
Civic Nebraska
CivicTN
Cleveland Vote
Common Cause
ConnPIRG Students
Demos
Dick Simpson, Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago and former Chicago Alderman
Emgage
Fair Elections Center
Feminist Majority Foundation
Forefront
Generation Citizen
Generation Progress
Georgia Shift
ideas42
Iowa Campus Compact
Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
LeadMN – College Students Connecting for Change
Macalester Student Choices – Student Voices
Mi Familia Vota Education Fund
Mi Familia Vota Texas
Minnesota Student Association (MSA)
motivote
MOVE San Antonio
National Association of Social Workers
National Education Association
National Voter Corps
New Era Colorado
New Georgia Project
NJPIRG Students
Ohio Campus Compact
Ohio Student Association
One Wisconsin Institute
Oregon Student Association
Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions
People Demanding Action
PHENOM (Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts)
Rock the Vote
Rollins College
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Spread The Vote
Student PIRGs
The Bus Project
The Century Foundation
The Democracy Commitment
Turn Up Turnout (University of Michigan)
Virginia21
Voto Latino
Walk2Vote
Young Invincibles
Young People For
YVoteNY