Registering college students to vote was formerly a realm dominated by volunteer groups, but now more colleges are stepping in to assist students with the registration and absentee-filing processes, according to an article in The New York Times Saturday.
That assistance has come in the form of reminder emails and registration drives at orientation programs and class registration, according to the article.
Boston University has reached out to students online about the voting process.
In September, students received an email from the BU Registrar with information about how to register and file an absentee ballot. The email concluded by saying students should contact the Dean of Students Office if they need additional assistance.
New laws requiring voters to present valid photo IDs and varied rules about how and when absentee ballots can be filed makes the process confusing for some college students. It’s probably reassuring for them to be able to walk into their Dean of Students Office and be assisted with those processes.
However, a website that takes users step by step through those processes could be more useful to some students — Turbovote is one such website.
The nonprofit is working with 58 colleges this election season to “get absentee ballots, find voting locations and track coming elections, sending out text reminders for important deadlines,” according to The Times.
While TurboVote was launched on BU’s campus in 2010, its BU Facebook page appears largely inactive, and it is not a name that is being thrown around with great frequency on campus.
It would be beneficial if TurboVote strengthened it presence on BU’s campus. Students would probably benefit from the step-by-step instructions and text alerts. Combined with the university’s assistance, students would probably find the registration and absentee filing procedures less cumbersome or confusing.
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