In 2008 the turnout for young voters was one of the highest but it appears in the upcoming election this may change due to new laws reportedly intended to put an end to voter fraud but will potentially damage the student voter turnout.
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The Huffington Post reports:
In Tennessee, a new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls explicitly excludes student IDs.
In Wisconsin, college students are newly disallowed from using university-provided housing lists or corroboration from other students to verify their residence.
Florida’s reduction in early voting days is expected to reduce the number of young and first-time voters there.
And Pennsylvania’s voter identification bill, still on the books for now, disallows many student IDs and non-Pennsylvania driver’s licenses, which means out-of-state students may be turned away at the polls.
The site reports the difficulty young students face, reporting:
Proving residency or meeting strict criteria for photo ID can be difficult for college students, particularly out-of-state students, or those who don’t drive. Out-of-state students frequently don’t get in-state ID when they go to college — but still want to vote there.
Groups that fought voter suppression efforts in the past are now trying to minimize the effects of these laws.
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University has created a student voting guide that includes information for each state.
SOURCE: Huffington Post
