Want to vote this year? Revved up for Barack Obama or John McCain? Either way, guard your rights. There are people who don't want you to show up at the polls.
As reported in Inside Higher Ed, students at Virginia Tech were told in the closing days of August that if they voted, they could lose their scholarships, have their driver's licenses voided, lose their health insurance and lose their tax status. These, of course, are all lies, but such misinformation is particularly dangerous in an election with such a surge in young voting.
The argument in Virginia is fundamentally flawed and reveals many people in this country view young people, especially students, as second-class citizens when it comes to voting. First off, if you pay rent, buy goods and services and live in a separate state from your family for nine months out of the year, yes, you do have a say in how that place is governed, and yes, you can vote. While all state laws are different, New Mexico is loud and clear on this point. The Virginia Tech argument flies in the face of the U.S. tax code, which clearly states students residing in another state from their family can still claim dependency, hold the rights and be subject to the laws of the state they are in for college.
Perhaps what is most frustrating about this is the double standard. While it is true that many students spend nine months out of every year in school, many other people do as well. Think of the elderly who head south with the birds when winter comes. You'll be hard-pressed to find a politician telling them they can't vote. As you can probably guess, this isn't so much about the nuances of voter registration laws, but, rather, it is about obtaining and maintaining power.
The reason this is such a contentious issue today is due largely to the rapid growth of young voters since the infamous 2000 election. While much of this has been attributed to Obama, it began to surprise political analysts long before his ground-breaking candidacy. Between the 2000 and 2004 presidential election, there was an almost 10 percent increase in young voters while older voters increased in number only from 1 to 4 percent, as reported by CIRCLE. And of the youth vote, working college students are turning out in the largest numbers. This isn't just going to change elections; it already has. Obama won Iowa because students formed 22 percent of all voters in the first primary, and that was during winter break. College students came busing in from afar to vote, and in record numbers. This trend continued throughout the primaries, and occasionally the youth outvoted most other age groups.
But this isn't equally distributed between the parties, and therein lies the problem. In the 2008 presidential primaries, Democrats gained 2.2 million new young voters, while Republicans gathered only 200,000 more. This opens a wide margin in several states, and nowhere will this shift be greater in November than in Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia and Iowa. In these states, colleges and universities are placed like chess pieces to have a huge impact on the election. The difference is so dramatic that to many politicians, it is better to reduce student voters than to try and win them over with argument and policies. I don't mean to imply that this is an activity done only by Republicans. During the Democratic primaries, Sens. Christopher Dodd and Hillary Clinton both argued that college students residing in Iowa shouldn't be able to vote in the primaries (though Clinton quickly took back her statement days later).
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Here at UNM, several student organizations have been anticipating these problems, and you can see the results all around you on campus. First and foremost, we have secured an early voting site on the third floor of the SUB from Oct. 18 until Nov. 1, so you are able to cast your vote in this election any day for two weeks on campus. College Democrats, Students for Barack Obama, Students for Tom Udall, Grassroots Campaigns and the Student PIRG are registering voters each day in and around the SUB until the deadline of Oct. 7. You can stop by the Graduate and Professional Student Association office, the College Democrats office (SUB 1022) or the PIRG office (SUB 1066) to register as well. We in College Democrats also have hundreds of absentee voter applications for anyone who needs them.
It doesn't matter whether you are Democrat, Republican or Independent. Get your voice out there and join the millions of youth who are changing the electoral map this year. Regardless of who walks into the White House this January, let politicians know students are a powerful force and will take stands. When we can do this and when we do, we will all play a part in the change in government we all need and deserve.
B. Lee Drake is the national council vice-chair for the College Democrats of America.
