Colleges and universities are required to make voter registration forms widely available to students.
As a condition of participating in Title IV Federal Student Aid programs, postsecondary institutions must make good-faith efforts to:
- distribute voter registration forms to
- all on-campus students
- enrolled in their degree or certificate programs.
(Check out the Dear Colleague Letter here and the regulation here.) An institution can either make available hard copies of the forms, or send a dedicated electronic message providing a link to state online registration forms.
The National Campus Voter Registration Project’s Your Vote, Your Voice 2016 website is designed to be a one-stop shop for campus voter registration needs; the site includes a dedicated voter registration portal and customizable tools for schools.
November will be here before we know it, and voter registration deadlines in many states fall well before that. Consider using this lull before the conventions to pull together your student voter registration notification or ensure appropriate hard-copy forms are at hand.