A majority of
young Americans say they are likely to vote this year, comprising nearly
one-fifth of the electorate, and 16 million Americans will have their first
opportunity to participate in a presidential election. College students have a
constitutional right to vote where they are residing while attending an
institution.That’s some
of the background noted in ACE’s updated issue brief, Student Voting and College Political Campaign-Related Activities in 2024.
The issue brief notes that, “the
rules for participating as voters in our country’s democratic process can
quickly feel complex to young voters, particularly students attending college
away from home. Voting is controlled by the states, within an increasingly fraught
and contested context regarding the legality of varying and often-changing voter
registration requirements.”
It is an update of ACE’s 2023 publication suggesting steps colleges and universities can
take to enable students to cast their ballots, including ways to fulfill
schools’ obligations under the Higher Education Act. It emphasizes that
institutions should take care to ensure that the voting resources offered to
their students are nonpartisan and that their communications with students are
received that way, and it also provides rules of the road for institutions and
campus community members regarding involvement in political campaign-related
activities.
The issue brief,
prepared by ACE Vice President and General Counsel Peter McDonough and Hogan
Lovells U.S. LLP, offers
illustrative examples of what is likely to be permissible and impermissible. It
does not seek to address other issues, such as freedom of speech and civility,
and it does not constitute legal advice. Institutions are reminded to examine
issues that are addressed in the issue brief based on their own unique
situations, policies, geographical and political context, and their own
counsel’s interpretation of relevant law.
“As we have seen during the last
academic year, issue advocacy on campuses by faculty, staff, students, and
unaffiliated members of the public can quickly become intertwined with, and
even fueled by, national and international politics and candidates for
election,” states the issue brief. “As we approach the 2024 elections, it may
get harder, in some circumstances, to distinguish between permissible issue
advocacy and problematic political campaign-related activities.”