How to Vote in College

Fellow Yellowjacket, have you registered to vote for the upcoming elections? 

The 2024 election is an important time in American history. As citizens, it is our civic duty to exercise our right to vote and choose representatives – locally or nationally – who will advocate for our interests. The first step to practicing our rights? Registering to vote! The registration process varies depending on your home state or territory, so it is extremely important to be informed about this process.

Let’s start with the basics: Your voter registration depends on where you reside permanently. However, as a college student, you have the unique opportunity to register to vote either in your hometown or where you attend college! This doesn’t mean that you can vote twice – that is considered election fraud. You can only vote once per election. If you are an out-of-state student, note that every state has residency laws that may impact voter registration. You can read more about residency laws and whether you are eligible to vote in your college’s state here.

Now that you’ve checked, you might be wondering where you should register to vote. This step is more of a personal preference, but here are some factors you should consider. In which location will your vote count more? Are there any policies that you hold important in either place? Once you’ve decided, it is time to officially register to vote!

To register, you can go to vote.gov and start your registration. Most states offer online registration, but you can also register by mail or in person at your local election office. Once you finish entering your information, you are officially registered to vote! Make sure to check your state’s voter registration deadlines here, so you don’t miss the opportunity to vote.

Depending on how you registered to vote, you might have to vote by mail or in person. If you are voting by mail as an absentee or early voter, check the election information from your state here, so that you are sending your ballot on time and that your vote counts. If you are voting in person, you can find your polling location here.

If you are already a registered voter (like me!) make sure that your voter registration information is up to date here.

Well, what are you waiting for? If you are not registered yet, make sure you register as soon as possible. Together, let us practice our right to vote in the upcoming elections!