There’s a motto in Corie Steinke’s University of Akron office: Decisions are made by those who show up.
It’s a classic line from the beloved political television show “The West Wing.” But, as the university’s assistant director for civic engagement and leadership programs, it drives her work, too.
One of her goals is to do just that: Get students to show up in America’s democratic process by voting now and in future elections.
Steinke is one of the many at colleges and universities tasked with helping lead nonpartisan voting efforts on campuses across Ohio. They’re doing that work amid a highly charged national political backdrop and misinformation – and changes to voting laws that could trip up students.
It’s a particularly big deal right now as it is the first presidential election for many members of Gen-Z. That group is roughly defined as those born in the late 1990s to the early 2010s.
Nationally, about 60% of them indicated they’re “extremely likely” to vote, according to data from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University.
At UA, Steinke said the focus remains on voter registration and providing election resources. Plus, she said, she and her colleagues are “always seeking the middle ground.”
“Our goal is never to change anybody’s mind or an ideology,” she said. “We just want students to feel like they have all of the resources they can to participate.”
Big part of Ohio State’s voting work is reminding students of deadlines
Ohio State University’s voting rate – defined as the number of registered students who voted on Election Day – was 75% in the 2020 election. That’s nearly 10 points higher than the national rate, per a report.
Meagen Rinard, the assistant director for Community and Civic Engagement at Ohio State, believes that’s due to the nonpartisan student-led work being done via a group called Ohio State Votes. It’s one of several groups doing this work on campuses across Ohio.
She calls the group a one-stop shop to get questions answered. That includes ones regarding deadlines to update their registration and how to request an absentee ballot.
That’s an important point. Rinard said many students are “pressure prompted” – meaning they may skirt close to deadlines.
“We have really focused a lot of our messaging on making sure students are aware of those dates and deadlines, making sure we recommend they do things as far and advanced as they can,” she said.
Ohio’s college students navigating new photo ID laws
Bowling Green State University’s “BGSU Votes” group has registered 500 new voters so far this semester. Officials said they’re also fielding questions about changes to the state’s voter ID laws.
Under a state law passed last year, gone are the days of showing a utility bill or bank statement with a current Ohio address. As Signal Cleveland previously explained, now only a few types of ID will suffice, including a U.S. passport or passport card, an unexpired state photo ID such as a driver’s license, or a military ID card (see a full list of acceptable identification here).
That could impact out-of-state residents who attend Ohio’s colleges. At Bowling Green, for example, federal data shows about 11% of the university’s roughly 17,000 total students were from outside of Ohio in fall 2022.
“We get quite a few out-of-state students asking, ‘What are my options when it comes to voting for the upcoming election? What can I do?’” said Adam Smith, the university’s coordinator of civic engagement.
Out-of-state Case Western Reserve student chooses to vote in Ohio
Giuseppe Yoveit-Nava is one of those out-of-state college students living in Ohio. The Pennsylvania native is in his third year at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University.
Last year, he told Signal Cleveland he was concerned about these new photo ID rules. He didn’t want to get an Ohio driver’s license. And he was concerned about bringing an important document such as his passport to campus.
Now, he’s a registered Ohio voter. He plans to vote in-person on Election Day, using his passport to prove his identity after all.
Pennsylvania and its politics have become more foreign to him, he said, since he now only lives there a handful of months each year. Local and statewide issues motivated him to want to vote in the Buckeye State.
“This is the state that I’m already investing personally in. I’m learning about the political process [in Ohio],” he said. “So why wouldn’t I vote here?”
Three things Ohio college students need to know about voting:
- Check your registration
- Secure the proper forms of ID
- Make a voting plan
University of Akron works to get students the right information
At the University of Akron, another thing Steinke thinks about is making sure students receive the correct information.
That’s a priority for the State of Ohio, too. Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office launched an online initiative called @VerifyOhio. The stated goal is to help “fight back against misinformation and boost confidence” for recent election cycles.
For Steinke, it’s a particularly big deal when thinking about outside groups that may come on campus to do their own voting engagement work.
“Sometimes, the way that they approach students and the information that they give is not always as complete as I would like it to be,” she said.
That could be things such as trying to register students with a campus address when they’re already registered with their home address. Or, if those outside folks are registering a student for the first time, they might not know the proper mailing systems at the university’s dorms.
Still, though, the onus is on students to follow through and double check to make sure they’re properly registered.
And then, the focus has to then turn to helping them move forward to actually vote. After all, if they don’t, ”then [their] registration is just a piece of paper that’s going to sit at the Board of Elections somewhere,” said Steinke.
“Students need to participate and need to feel empowered to participate,” she said.
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