[haw-info] "Ten Easy Ways to Register Students to Vote"

[Van Gosse]

Dear HAW Member,

Even those of us who don't trust electoral politics acknowledge that  
much of the fall's discussions among students will have the elections  
as a backdrop and inspiring motive. Hence, get out the vote efforts  
can be very effective ways of reaching students who otherwise might  
not feel comfortable discussing political questions; they can also  
build strong networks among activist students and teachers on campus,  
and encourage open policy debate. With this in mind, we forward the  
following guidelines, developed by the "F&M Votes Coalition" at  
Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, for encouraging the "get  
out the vote" effort this fall on your campus. Note: F&M's coalition  
has registered over 2,000 students from 2004-2008, and turned out  
large majorities of the College’s student body to vote on Election  
Day.  Questions can be directed to Van Gosse at van.gosse at fandm.edu.



TEN EASY STEPS TO REGISTER STUDENTS TO VOTE

STEP ONE

Create a nonpartisan coalition, incorporating students, faculty and  
staff, to register, educate, and turn out students to vote.   
Remember:  Since the Help American Vote Act was passed, all colleges  
and universities receiving any federal funding are required to make a  
good effort to register students, so you are helping out your school  
by doing this.  Meet with senior administrators, even your president,  
to explain your plans and ask for their support.

  STEP TWO

Investigate:

1.     When is the registration deadline in your state (typically 30  
days before Election Day)?

2.     How do you properly fill out your state’s voter registration  
form, including any rules on assisting registrants?

3.     Where are the current polling places for students resident at,  
or living nearby, your campus?

STEP THREE

Make your own customized voter registration form, using an original  
from your state but adding in all possible information (e.g. if these  
students live on campus, you can fill that information in).  Make sure  
you receive prior approval from your County Board of Elections to do  
this, and copy the “customized” form onto the lower half of a sheet  
with instructions about it [see attached] so as to speed up the process.

STEP FOUR

Organize a crew for “Move-In Day,” when first-years show up with their  
parents, new furniture and CD collections to collect room keys, sign  
up for bank accounts etc.  Most schools do this in their gym or  
student center.  If you can arrange for a strategically-placed table,  
and have several people stand in front of it with clipboards full of   
(preferably customized) voter registration forms, you can easily sign  
up one or two hundred new voters.  Tips:

·      train all volunteers on filling our the registration forms

·      give all volunteers “talking points” so they can explain to  
students why it behooves them to register here (are they now in a  
swing state?  How many students actually manage to vote absentee?  How  
close will their polling station now be?)

·      have extra clipboards on the table with pens

·      if possible get the school to fund some kind of simple give- 
away, whether edible or otherwise;  at F&M we made 500 “F&M Votes”  
Frisbees with our logo on them

·      be prepared for parents who will get very suspicious and weird,  
as in “he’s already taken care of, he votes at home” without waiting  
to see what their son actually wants to do

STEP FIVE

Table at your Student Activities Fair:  again, typically early in the  
fall term there is a day when all student organizations staff tables  
and seek members.  Your clipboarders should circulate through the  
crowd, asking people to register to vote.

STEP SIX

Later in September, organize an in-class registration week.  After  
clearing it with the appropriate dean, a respected professor of the  
faculty should email the entire faculty, asking if they can spare ten  
minutes at the beginning of a class for a volunteer to hand out forms  
and help students fill them out.  The coordinator should link  
volunteers to classrooms at the professors’ convenience.  Volunteers  
must be trained so that they do not waste classtime.

STEP SEVEN

Use the registration deadline for a final push—tabling, clipboarding  
at key points on campus.  Ask a leading campus administrator to send a  
message to all students that this is their last chance.

STEP EIGHT

The month before the election is ideal for voter education:  forums  
with professors to explain the issues, debates between Campus  
Republicans and College Democrats, guest speakers, a film series, etc.

  STEP NINE

In the week before the election, organize systematic Get-Out-The-Vote  
(GOTV) operations in the dorms and/or your campus neighborhood:   
putting a flyer with location of the polling place and hours under  
every door, to begin with.  Even better is creating a list of  
registered students from the current voter list held by your county  
board of elections, which by law is available for the public.  Go door- 
to-door, ask for that specific voter and remind him or her to vote,  
making sure they have all necessary information.

  STEP TEN

  On Election Day itself, open an Election Headquarters early in the  
AM in your Student Center, with banners, coffee and free food, and  
keep it open until the polls close.  This is to remind students where  
to vote, and encourage them to do so:  many students will still be  
uncertain as to whether or not they are registered, and where, or even  
how late they can vote.  Make sure you have the current list of  
registered voters.  If there is any question of hostile individuals or  
groups “challenging” the right of your students to vote, get  
sympathetic faculty and staff to act as poll greeters, ready to call  
in on cell phones to report any problems.  If you do anticipate these  
challenges, get your college’s legal counsel alerted in advance, ready  
to apply to a judge for redress:  it has repeatedly been established  
in court cases around the country that students have right to vote  
where they go to school, but there is considerable local resistance to  
“non-residents” exercising their rights.

  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://stopthewars.org/pipermail/haw-info_stopthewars.org/attachments/20080822/cecf8b76/attachment.html