Whether voting for change or putting their country first, the votes of students will have a massive impact on the upcoming presidential election, according to the United States Student Association and the Brennan Center for Justice.
According to the USSA and the Brennan Center, it is part of their mission to make sure the student voice is heard come Nov. 4.
According to USSA National Field Director Bill Shiebler, students have the most at stake when deciding the future of the country. He said this alone should motivate students to turn out at the polls in record numbers and force officials to change they way they run for office.
“Historically, students have been at the forefront of change in this country, and I think that is what we’re seeing again.” Shiebler said. “I think a lot of the momentum and excitement that we’ve seen in this election has been ignited by youth from the very beginning.”
Although the upcoming election is seeing record amounts of registered student voters, it is important to remember increasing student voter turnout is part of a recent trend, said Rachel Ackoff, USSA electoral director.
“Although we are incredibly excited about the decisive impact that young people are going to have on this specific election, we don’t feel that it is unique,” Ackoff said. “We feel that it’s part of a longer trend beginning in 2004 and carrying through 2006.”
Both the USSA and the Brennan Center consider themselves important players in the trend of rising youth voter turnout. According to USSA President Carmen Berkley, they have been serving young voters since they helped get the voting age lowered to 18 in 1971.
More recently, she says they have worked hard to mobilize young women, students of color and members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community to get out and vote.
One of the main ways the USSA helps student voters is by letting them know their rights and clearing up any misunderstandings students may have about the election process, USSA Vice President Gregory Cendana said.
As a nonpartisan institution at the New York University School of Law, The Brennan Center for Justice is helping students realize their voting rights as well.
One way they have aided students in the 2008 election process is by creating an interactive online map to help inform students of their voting rights.
“Students across the country face unique challenges when they register to vote and cast ballots,” said voting rights and elections fellow Jennifer Rosenberg from the Brennan Center for Justice. “The interactive guide provides an easy state-by-state analysis and dispels a lot of common myths about the registration process.”
According to Rosenberg, the map can be helpful to students who go to school away from home and do not know the voter registration and election laws in the state where they are attending college.
“The majority of students should have no trouble registering and voting this November if they know their rights,” Rosenberg said.