Getting Student Power Into the Voting Booth

Universities are using competitions, music, and prizes to encourage civic engagement among students. Efforts are aided by a national study that allows schools to see how many of their students voted either locally or absentee.

College students in Monterey Bay are pairing up with K-12 classrooms to teach students about civic engagement. The college students are then invited to give presentations during class time on topics ranging from the census to environmental justice. The program is a partnership between California State University - Monterey Bay and the Monterey County Office of Education, and also helps students fulfill a required community service credits.

Non-profit organization Protect Democracy has created a free web application called VoteShield, which uses statistics, machine learning, and data visualization to track and flag any unusual changes in local public voter databases. Already in use in 14 states, the application allows secretaries of state and other election administrators to act on and correct these changes before voters get turned away at the polls.

Michigan’s Genessee County jail employs two formerly incarcerated organizers who help people detained there register to vote, cast their ballots, and access resources about pivotal election measures. They also coordinate forums with political candidates for offices ranging from the Michigan Supreme Court to the Flint City Council.

In Maine, one of only two states where people in prison retain their right to vote, the Maine State Prison branch of the NAACP engages incarcerated voters through flyers, posters, guest speakers, and group discussions about political issues. Over the past two decades, the organization has helped more than 1,000 people register to vote in Maine prisons.

After Georgia implemented an automatic voter registration system that’s integrated with driver’s license applications, the percentage of state residents registered to vote increased from 78 percent to 98 percent over four years. Election officials are also automatically updated when a voter changes residences, streamlining the process for updating voter records.

Morena New York Committee 1 offers programs and events that aim to engage members of the Mexican Diaspora living in the United States and encourage them to participate in Mexican elections. The organization recently mounted three processions in New York City to demonstrate support for the country's sitting president.

Ahead of a vote on a ballot measure that would have ensured that no right to abortion could ever be added to Kentucky's constitution, pro-choice activists connected with voters via protests and door-knocking campaigns. Their efforts focused on registering new voters and exploring the nuances of reproductive health care, and the amendment was successfully defeated by a margin of nearly 5 percentage points.

Because Arabic-speakers are not entitled to translated election materials under the Voting Rights Act, Michigan organizers in Dearborn and Hamtramck instead took the issue to their city councils and were able to secure local legislation requiring the communities to provide Arabic-language ballots. The new resource was available for the first time during the August primary.

Through the Vot-ER program, doctors, nurses, and other health care staff speak to their patients about registering to vote and provide important election information, even wearing badges with QR codes that patients can scan to access online voting resources. Since 2020, the initiative has helped more than 66,000 people register to vote or request a mail-in ballot, and more than 500 hospitals, clinics, and centers have participated.