[EL] Spotlight: We Can’t Let the Pandemic Keep Students from Voting -- by Senator Michael Bennet

[Elias, Marc (Perkins Coie)]

Earlier today Democracy Docket<https://www.democracydocket.com/> published its first Spotlight<https://www.democracydocket.com/category/spotlight/> contribution.
We Can’t Let the Pandemic Keep Students from Voting
August 21, 2020
By Michael Bennet<https://www.democracydocket.com/author/contributor1/>

For college students across America, the pandemic has disrupted classes, delayed careers and deprived them of precious time with friends and faculty. But even as the pandemic throws their future into chaos, it will also make it harder for students to shape that future by voting in the 2020 elections.

As we saw with UNC-Chapel Hill<https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article245014185.html> this week, this pandemic will likely force a number of colleges and universities to close, which will disperse millions of students across the country. These students are often first-time voters, and navigating questions about where and how they can register and vote is complicated under normal conditions.

Away from school, millions of students will now have to navigate the often complex process of registering or requesting absentee ballots without the benefit of student groups, on-campus resources and the voter drives that typically boost participation. Without support, many of these new voters may not cast their ballots correctly or at all.

These challenges come on the heels of a broader effort in many states to suppress student voting. New Hampshire, for example, passed a law requiring new voters who drive to secure in-state auto registration and driver’s licenses, which can cost several hundreds of dollars a year. At least seven states—Arizona, Iowa, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas—do not accept student IDs<https://www.campusvoteproject.org/student-id-as-voter-id> to vote. On several campuses nationwide, the closest polling place is often miles away.

Despite these barriers, in 2018, youth turnout hit its highest level<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/23/young-people-actually-rocked-vote-new-census-data-find/> in over 30 years for a midterm election (it was still only 36%). We cannot let the pandemic reverse this momentum.
READ FULL ARTICLE: https://www.democracydocket.com/2020/08/we-cant-let-the-pandemic-keep-students-from-voting/

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