*Institutionalizing Voter Registration on College Campuses

The Higher Education Act of 1998 requires that U.S. colleges and universities make a “good faith effort” to register students to vote, but many schools have yet to meet standards.  In these cases, partisan student groups often become the main voter registrants, which can alienate undecided and independent voters.  SAVE chapters work with university administration to organize non-partisan voter registration outlets in new student orientation, course curricula, school-wide events, and high-traffic areas on campus.

 

*The College Presidents Commitment to Civic Engagement

SAVE, in partnership with the Student PIRGS and United States Student Association, has coauthored a pledge with which student leaders can lobby their college presidents, calling for practical administrative measures to increase voter participation.  Whereas a report from Harvard's Shorenstein Center recently noted that the nonvoting young are “more likely [than any other group] to cite registration mistakes or a lack of registration knowledge as a reason why they did not vote,” our goal is to help institutions of higher education eradicate the barrier of ignorance.  Two specific examples of what the commitment calls for are 1) dissemination of letters to every student mailbox explaining how, why, where, and when to vote, as well as 2) making new student orientation a fundamental outlet for registering all incoming students and providing them with absentee resources if they prefer to vote in their home district.

 

*Town Hall Meetings, Issue Forums, and Political Debates

Voter education requires a true devotion to learning the issues. SAVE chapters hold forums that educate voters on the positions that candidates, young people, and community leaders take on national and state policies. SAVE has already joined with the United States Association of Former Members of Congress to send bipartisan speakers to our chapters, as well as to hold political dialogues on the national, televised level. Politicians need to learn what topics are important to their young constituents, and young constituents need to know that politicians are accessible and listening.

*Working with Resident Assistants 

Recently partnering with ResidentAssistant.com, SAVE will work with 25,000 RAs this coming fall to lead voter registration drives that will sign up tens of thousands of college voters, while also distributing important Election Day procedures. Our goal is for every Resident Assistant to register at least 10 people in their hall, bringing our registration total to one quarter million.  

 

* Training More Poll Workers 

The average age of a poll worker in our country is well over 60.  In many locations, it is over 70.  SAVE chapters lead youth poll worker programs, where young people can take charge of elections as administrators and volunteers on Election Day. We regularly collaborate with board of elections offices at the chapter level and have worked with the Election Assistance Commission to teach students how to oversee election law.