It seems like after every election, there are experts who come out complaining about low voter turnout among young people.
But there's a chance for a new storyline this year.
The 2008 election could break all the records for voter turnout among college students -- but only if young people get accurate information about registration, absentee ballots and their voting rights.
Help Common Cause protect the student vote!
We've already seen examples of election administrators giving misleading information to students who are hoping to vote for the first time.1 That's why Common Cause is pulling out all the stops to educate at least 50,000 new student voters about
* how to confirm that they are registered to vote;
* where their polling place is located;
* what forms of ID they will need to vote;
* who to contact for help if their voting rights are challenged on Election Day; and
* ways to stay politically active after November 4th.
We're also building bridges between local election administrators and college campuses to make sure that eligible first-time voters aren't turned away at the polls. For example, we're talking with school officials to ask them to issue utility bills to students who need written proof of their campus address, and with local county officials to make sure their poll workers are trained to accept campus utility bills.
And we'll be running "voter empowerment" tables at polling places near colleges across the country to provide first-time voters with support in case they face any voting challenges.
With your help, we can reach more students on more campuses in more states.
Please make a generous gift to protect the student vote today!
We're working hard to make sure this election is conducted fairly and the votes are counted accurately. We appreciate your support.
Thanks for all you do,
Susannah Goodman, Daryn Cambridge,
and the rest of the team at Common Cause
P.S. Are you on Facebook? Join our "Protect the Student Vote" cause!
1 Read more: "Election officials telling college students they can't vote", McClatchy Newspapers, Sept. 24, 2008 and "Voter Registration by Students Raises Cloud of Consequences" , New York Times, Sept. 7, 2008.
But there's a chance for a new storyline this year.The 2008 election could break all the records for voter turnout among college students -- but only if young people get accurate information about registration, absentee ballots and their voting rights.
Help Common Cause protect the student vote!
We've already seen examples of election administrators giving misleading information to students who are hoping to vote for the first time.1 That's why Common Cause is pulling out all the stops to educate at least 50,000 new student voters about
* how to confirm that they are registered to vote;
* where their polling place is located;
* what forms of ID they will need to vote;
* who to contact for help if their voting rights are challenged on Election Day; and
* ways to stay politically active after November 4th.
We're also building bridges between local election administrators and college campuses to make sure that eligible first-time voters aren't turned away at the polls. For example, we're talking with school officials to ask them to issue utility bills to students who need written proof of their campus address, and with local county officials to make sure their poll workers are trained to accept campus utility bills.
And we'll be running "voter empowerment" tables at polling places near colleges across the country to provide first-time voters with support in case they face any voting challenges.
With your help, we can reach more students on more campuses in more states.
Please make a generous gift to protect the student vote today!
We're working hard to make sure this election is conducted fairly and the votes are counted accurately. We appreciate your support.
Thanks for all you do,
Susannah Goodman, Daryn Cambridge,
and the rest of the team at Common Cause
P.S. Are you on Facebook? Join our "Protect the Student Vote" cause!
1 Read more: "Election officials telling college students they can't vote", McClatchy Newspapers, Sept. 24, 2008 and "Voter Registration by Students Raises Cloud of Consequences" , New York Times, Sept. 7, 2008.
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