Click on Titles for More Information
The Student VOTER Act (H.R.1729)
The Student Voter Opportunity to Encourage Registration (VOTER) Act is a federal bill conceived of by SAVE members and introduced in the House by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Congressman Steven LaTourette (R-OH), as well as in the Senate by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).
The Student VOTER Act amends the National Voter Registration Act to designate colleges and universities as “voter registration agencies.” The legislation would require all colleges and universities that receive federal funds to offer voter registration to students during “enrollment for a course of study.”
The legislation is a proposal intended to aid the 32% of non-voting young people (18-29 year olds) who cite problems with the voter registration process as the reason they did not participate. A lack of knowledge of how, where, and when to register is the most common reason among our age group for lack of political participation.
SAVE urges the creation of a National Voter Awareness Week to create civic engagement and voter registration opportunities for all 18 year old American citizens. The platform was conceived of by SAVE members and introduced as a bipartisan congressional resolution on October 1, 2008 by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Congressman Zack Space (D-OH) and Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC).
The resolution calls upon the people of the United States to observe the week with appropriate programs and activities, including helping state and local institutions deliver sample ballots, voter registration forms, absentee ballots, and other educational materials to all eligible voters.
It encourages all grassroots organizations and educational, cultural, and community institutions to promote voter awareness and registration programs that befit local election procedure. Specific programming to involve high school students in local government, legislation or mock elections is also encouraged during this week.
SAVE supports the Absentee Ballot Track, Receive and Confirm Act (HR 2510), otherwise known as the TRAC Act which establishes more tracking and reliability when it comes to absentee ballots. The bill would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require election officials to establish procedures to track and confirm the receipt of voted absentee ballots in elections for Federal office and to make information on the receipt of such ballots available by means of online access. This bill would create more transparency in the absentee ballot process.
Pre-Voter Registration
SAVE supports efforts to allow young people to register to vote prior to their eighteenth birthday. The most common age for pre-registration is sixteen, and several states already implement the concept, including Hawaii, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, and Oregon. Essentially, young people not yet of voting age are eligible to register to vote; however, their registration data is placed in a separate database and not activated until their eighteenth birthday. Under pre-voter registration, young people benefit by having an additional two year period during which they are eligible to register. Invariably, a greater number of young people are able to register during that extended period prior to their first eligible election than would be able to between their eighteenth birthday and the first eligible election.
Election Day Registration
Young Americans are disproportionately affected by registration deadlines because, as a whole, we are more geographically mobile than older age groups. Election Day Registration removes this barrier by allowing citizens to register in their district the day of the election. Safeguards exist to prevent voter fraud and ensure election integrity, and studies, from organizations such as Demos, indicate the process contributes to higher voter participation rates. SAVE chapters contribute to statewide campaigns to promote Election Day Registration, which also allows young people to harness the momentum that campaigns build as Election Day approaches.