Republicans have a history of employing a variety of techniques to discourage college students from voting in the state where they attend college. Their methods include everything from distributing misleading information to outright intimidation. This year is no exception. I have read a number of diaries on Kos that call out some of these efforts (here and here, for example). So imagine my surprise when I came across this article on townhall.com (painful to visit this site, but I force myself to stay abreast of what the other side is up to):
Falwell college wants students to vote locally
The chancellor of Liberty University has an ambitious plan to get the 10,500 students at the evangelical Christian college registered to vote in Virginia, a swing state that could be crucial to victory in the presidential election.
The key, according to Jerry Falwell Jr., is to register Liberty students in Lynchburg, home to the conservative college his late father founded in 1971.
"If they register here, they're more likely to vote," said Falwell, who supports Republican John McCain.
So, I guess Republicans do think it's a good idea for college students to vote in their college towns, AS LONG AS THE VAST MAJORITY OF STUDENTS WILL BE VOTING FOR THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE. What an outrage! The hypocrisy here is stunning.
The article goes on to state that to encourage as many students as possible to vote, classes are cancelled on Election Day and the college has arranged for city buses to transport students to polls at no cost. Now, that's an idea I think should be put into place at every college in the country. I would love to see other college presidents get actively involved in educating their students about their voting rights and making it easy for them to cast their votes on Election Day.
I am the parent of one college student and one recent graduate with many friends at this stage of life. I remember hearing the horror story of one of my friend's sons' voting experience in 2004. He was a student at the University of Pittsburgh who, despite having properly registered to vote in Pennsylvania, was told that he could not vote unless he had his identity validated. In order to do that, he had to travel to a government office in downtown Pittsburgh and wait hours in line. This young man was determined to vote, and he stuck it out, but how many others just gave up? All signs point to even more aggressive efforts by Republicans this year to discourage (most) college students from voting in their college towns.
In talking with many of my friends and their children about whether they were registered to vote in their college towns (especially the ones who go to school in swing states), I am surprised by how many of them are under the mistaken impression that registering to vote in their college town will somehow jeopardize their ability to retain their hometown driver's license, registration or auto insurance, health insurance, financial aid eligibility, tax status as a dependent, etc.
If you are the parent of a college student who attends school in a swing state, I urge you encourage him or her to vote there. You can reassure them that nothing will be in jeopardy. And talk to your friends and their children who are college students as well. Registration deadlines are rapidly approaching; to look up the deadline for your state, here are a couple of sites to check:
http://www.longdistancevoter.org/...
http://www.declareyourself.com/...
Being the strong advocate of voters' rights that I am, I went a step further by downloading the Florida voter registration application and helping my son fill it out. I also made sure that a copy of the proper identification was included with the application, per the instructions. I was even able to confirm online that he is officially registered. Now, the last step is for him to actually vote, and to make sure his vote counts by bringing the proper identification with him to the polls. With all the hoops some states make first-time voters jump through, it's no wonder that the youth vote has been historically low. Not this year!