COLLEGE VOTING FAQ

What is Student Vote?

Student Vote is a strictly non-partisan, volunteer-run ,one-stop, online registration and vote-planning resource for college students in 7 states with competitive races for President and Congress.

Student Vote voting plan pages are not general instructions for an entire state or for different types of voters – they are instructions for students on a specific college campus and we provide one-on-one voting help for college students or their parents.

Studentvote.info provides the following information for college students on its voting plan pages:

  • Registration instructions including sample voter registration forms with the right way to fill out specific dorm addresses on campuses with mailing rooms in different buildings
  • Help getting paper forms, stamps and envelopes, if a student cannot register online due to lack of an in-state driver’s license.
  • How to get voter ID & proof of residency documents when you live on campus and may not have an in-state driver’s license, lease or utility bill.
  • Locations and hours of early voting and how to find your Election Day polling place.
  • A recommendation of the easiest way to vote from a particular campus location based upon the proximity of polling locations.
  • Instructions for absentee voting, mail voting and voting from abroad or active duty.
  • A helpline for one-on-one voting assistance.

The Student Vote site is fully mobile-friendly and can function as a mobile web app to help students register and vote from anywhere.

Checking the boxes on our voting plan pages produces a personalized voting plan that can be downloaded in PDF format or emailed/texted.

Who is Student Vote?

Student Vote is run by volunteers who are not affiliated with any party or campaign. We are unincorporated and self-financed by contributions from friends and other volunteers. Our motivation is to help college students overcome common obstacles and barriers to voting.

Are college students allowed to vote from school?

Yes they are! In every state, college students can choose whether to register from their home address or school address.

States have different lengths of residency required prior to Election Day but none is longer than 30 days, so students who have lived at school since September are allowed to vote from school.

Should I vote from my home or my school?

It’s Your Choice –pick the option that’s the easiest and most impactful for you.

Why Register and Vote from College?

  • Impact: If your college is in a Swing State (PA, MI, WI, AZ, NC, GA, FL, NH and NV) or in a Swing District for Congress, voting from your school address can have greater weight influencing the outcome of the election.
  • Flexibility: At college, you may have more voting options, including: on Election Day; Early Voting; or Voting by Mail.
  • Community: Your vote can directly impact your college community and could influence university funding and tuition.


Why Vote from Home?

  • Home is in a Swing State: (PA, MI, WI, AZ, NC, GA, FL, NH and NV) Your vote from home could have more weight influencing the election’s oucome than other states.
  • How to vote from home: By absentee ballot mailed to you at school. Or travel back to your home state to vote in person early or on election day.
What is a Student Vote College Voting Plan?

Student Vote provides non-partisan, campus-specific voting plans colleges located in 7 states. Select a college from the list on the home page to find step-by-step instructions for voter registration and voting on your campus location.

Student Vote college voting plans recommend the easiest way to vote for a particular campus. For example, if a college has an Early Voting polling place on campus, the recommended way to vote would be during Early Voting. In other cases, Early Voting may not be easily accessible to a campus, so the recommended way to vote would be Election Day voting at a polling place on or near campus.

Anyone may view a college’s Voting Plan page and select the options that apply to their situation, such as whether they have an in-state driver’s license or whether they choose to vote a different way (such as Vote by Mail or Vote from Study Abroad).

After selecting the voting plan options for your situation, you may put in a phone number or email address to have your voting plan sent to you. After submitting your form, you can also download a PDF of your personalized voting plan for your college location.

My school's plan is not yet available – how do I get help?

The voting volunteers at Student Vote are creating voting plans and adding new colleges each day. If your school’s plan is not yet ready, enter your email address or phone number to be notified when it is available and click “Submit”.

Requesting a school’s plan by entering your contact info also tells Student Vote to prioritize and expedite the plan for your particular college.

You may also request personal help from Student Vote by emailing contact@studentvote.info or texting/calling (347) 460-4860.

Can I vote if I am studying abroad this term?

Yes!  US citizens who are outside the country can vote by Special Absentee Ballot.  Everything you need to request your Absentee Ballot is at votefromabroad.org You can do it right now!  The site has a help-desk if you have specific questions.

I'm on active duty in the military or in a military household. What do I need to do to vote?
If you are registered to vote in the community where you now live, you vote like everyone else does.  
 
If you are on active duty and serving away from home, you can vote by Special Absentee Ballot.  This gives you extra time and flexibility.
  • Special Absentee Ballots are available to anyone who is serving on active duty in the military away from their home precinct.  Their households too. That’s in the United States OR abroad.  This includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, NOAA and the Public Health Service.  Everything you need to register or get an absentee ballot is at fvap.gov .
  • This is true in EVERY state.  Special Absentee Ballots are mandated in federal law to protect voting rights of those who serve away from home.
How do I get voting help for a school not listed on the Student Vote home page?

If your school is not listed but is located in PA, MI, WI, AZ, GA, NC, Upstate NY or Long Island, NY, send us your college name and your contact information and we will work on a voting plan for your college.

In other states and locations, we recommend that students seek voting help from one of these sources:

I registered to vote in my home state when I turned 18 just a couple of months ago. Can I re-register in my college state now?

Yes! Moving to college is considered moving to a new state. You can choose to vote absentee from your home state or register to vote from your college address. The choice is yours as long as you do not vote in more than one place.

Your new registration at college supersedes the old registration if you choose to vote from college, and you should only ever vote from one location. It is good practice to contact your old county or municipal elections clerk to cancel your old voter registration as you would when moving to a new state.

I want to vote in my college state but I do not have a driver's license or DOT ID card. How do I register online?

If your driver’s license or official state ID is from a different state from your college or where you are currently residing, you can still register to vote using the last four digits of your social security number as your ID.

Some states will let you register online only if you have a state-issued driver’s license or ID card. Other states will allow you to register online with your social security number, but you will need sign with a touchpad or upload a quality image of your signature in a format the state accepts (usually .jpg or .png).

Our voting volunteers send students paper registration forms and stamped addressed envelopes for you to register using your social security number and a signature on paper. Order yours here.

What are some of the obstacles to voting for college students?

College students face some unique obstacles to registration and voting and some obstacles that are shared by a wide range of voters. Common voting challenges include the following technical and psychological barriers:

  • Lack of Knowledge – Many students are intimidated by voting and think they need to master the details of every issue and every candidate’s platform in order to vote.

    In swing states, students don’t understand the outsize impact of their votes on election outcomes and may not understand their vote has great power in tight races.

  • Disaffection – Often students don’t connect voting and public policy to their own lives, values and dreams for the future. Many young people feel that politicians aren’t looking out for them or speaking to them.
  • Confusion – Elections are complicated with many dates, deadlines and forms to navigate, and often students are just trying to adapt to school, meet new people and pass their classes. It all seems like a lot of work.
  • Too Many Options – Multiple ways to register and vote lead to confusing and overwhelming public voter information without a clear voting path.
  • Multi-Step Process – Many states require registration separate from a ballot request and a voter needs to register, confirm registration, secure Voter ID and/or proof of residency, request a ballot and vote.
  • Voter ID and Proof of Residency– States which require proof of residency or special voter ID beyond the college ID pose particular challenges for students. Those who live on campus do not have apartment leases and often need special letter from their school or proof of tuition payment to prove residency. And some states require colleges to issue out-of-state students special “voter-compliant” College ID cards.
  • Multiple Locations of Residency – students have a hard time deciding whether to vote at home or college and often don’t know how to best make that decision.
  • Poorly trained clerks – most election clerks are friendly and want to help students vote, but some voting officials are not properly trained or equipped to handle complex questions related to student voting. Even voter hotlines often have to escalate student voting questions to a special team.
  • Political Parties – Confusion about party selection, which is required to vote in primary elections in many states. Many students don’t realize that choosing a political party for voter registration does not required them to vote for that party’s candidates in the general election.
  • Online dead-ends – Many students just want to register using an app or online, and many online voting tools make that seem possible, but then students without in-state driver’s licenses often run into dead-ends where they must print paper, find envelopes and stamps. Or some states have online registration that requires a voter to create a user name and password before registering, and this barrier deters many voters.

Student Vote’s personalized voting plans aim to navigate students around these barriers and present a single, clear path for each student to both register and vote this year.

I want to help as many others vote as possible. How can I help?

There are many ways you can help!

Publicize your college’s 2024 Voting Guide to your friends and fellow students at college and have them sign up for individualized voting plans.

Run an on-campus voter registration event using our paper forms, return envelopes and voting voting plans. Request forms and envelopes here.