I have had a number of friends ask me a rather unsettling question: Is it true that my absentee ballot will only be counted in the case of a tie? The answer, of course, is no! Absentee ballots count the same as the ballots cast at polling places on Election Day. But this question brings to light the issues that college students around the country will face when trying to cast their votes. Between the registrars in Virginia who were erroneously informing students that they would lose scholarships if they registered to vote in the state, the new voter ID laws that require identification that some students simply don't have, and recent efforts by the Republican party to challenge the validity of new voters, many of whom are young, students face huge hurdles on November 4th.
This is an issue that has unfortunately been overlooked by mass media, who choose to instead focus on this ACORN nonsense when it comes to the actual administration of this election. However, in the 2004 election it was students at Kenyan College in Ohio who faced over 10 hour lines in order to vote because their needs were simply ignored. Nineteen percent of people between the ages of 18-29 do not have a government issued ID, yet since 2004 many states have passed laws requiring such information to be presented when voting.
There is a simple lack of awareness in our country about the unique problems that college students face when trying to engage in our civic duty, and this is just one piece in the puzzle of running a democratic election that the government is unable to put together. Every election cycle it's the same thing. In the months leading up to the election the country only focuses only partisan fighting and then, at the last second, rumors of rigged voting machines and voter fraud spread. There is no mention of the incompetent state and local officials who will not be able manage to understand their voting laws or hire enough poll workers to meet the huge turnout expected on Election Day. Then after the polls close, the papers and news shows are filled with stories of long lines, lawsuits, and general incompetence until it is all forgotten again a month later. Because there is little public scrutiny in between elections, the voting machine companies and election officials are under no great pressure to dramatically fix the system. Unless this election is a complete landslide in all competitive races, you better believe that the irregularities found and discussed this year will be worse than either the 2000 and 2004 election.
If it is true that there is a "youthquake" this year, than college students will be disproportionately affected by these problems that we have known about for a decade. Because there is so little focus on the issues we face, there is no one holding the election officials, the manufacturing companies, or our leaders responsible. At AU many students vote by absentee ballot, yet these are often far too complex to obtain and Universities, including ours, do not go out of their way to help students obtain their ballot. It's a shame that AU isn't following the example of Liberty University in Virginia and making an effort to see every student registered and ready to vote. We need a proper effort in colleges, towns, counties and states across the country to address the inexcusable problems we face when trying to vote, as well as an effective civic education program that will result in a society where students are confident that their votes will truly count.
Ben D'Avanzo Junior, School of Public Affairs and President, AU Chapter of the Student Association for Voter Empowerment
