Who is helping make sure that these often first-time voters are requesting their ballots on time, receiving them, and sending them back before Election Day?
Students have a perception that absentee ballots are confusing and unreliable. It’s time for us to flip the narrative around voting by mail, especially as COVID-19 changes the reality of what voting looks like. Campuses must work to facilitate this process by making more resources and support available for students to vote by mail.
In 2018, 22.5 percent of 18-24 year olds nationally voted by mail, that’s a higher percentage than any other age group, other than those who are 65+. I am a part of that group of young voters. Growing up, I waited in anticipation for the day I would be able to cast my own ballot. Beyond having the opportunity to let my voice be heard, I craved the empowering moment at the voting box.
In three of the first four elections that I've been eligible to vote in, I have voted by mail and not at the voting booth or on Election Day. Like many young people and college students, I am often not near my voting address when elections come around. November 2018, I was instead living in Morocco during a gap year before starting my first year of college.
My first vote in a presidential primary was not at a polling site either, but rather on campus at Tufts University in Boston. While I was lucky enough that mail services delivered my ballot, several dozen of my peers who had requested their absentee ballots had their ballots lost or misplaced by the campus mail delivery system. We'rethis happen on a larger scale during COVID with an increased number of people requesting absentee ballots and not receiving them on time.
The November 2020 election will look different from any other election cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. One thing we can predict is that voting by mail and voting absentee will be more important than ever. It’s time that campuses elevate absentee voting through dispelling myths, providing resources and support, and making absentee voting a community experience and a valued norm.
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