How To Plan Your Vote As a College Students

COVID-19 has changed the way we vote. To help drive election turnout, the message political candidates and civic groups are sending is "plan your vote." But for students studying and living on and around shuttered campuses, making that plan is easier said than done.

In August, the University of Texas opened for the first time since March. Since then, it witnessed a clear spike of COVID-19 cases among its students, with 783 students tested positive since Aug. 26. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, many plans set forth by voting advocates are fraught with the fear of campus closing before election day as in-person classes are abruptly stopped.

Last week, the Travis County Clerk released the 40 early voting locations, with two on-campus locations, Flawn Academic Center and Gregory Gym. According to Victoria Hinojosa, executive assistant at the Travis County Clerk office, which oversees the elections in Travis County, polling locations would not shut down if the campus had to.

Jim Henson, the Texas Politics Project director, recommends students should have a plan and consider their personal situation. According to Henson, the combination of high turnout, the pandemic, and how polling locations operates is going to cost some problems during election day.

"I would really advise students to make a list, layout a process, confirm that you are registered and where they are registered, then, think about your situation and plan accordingly," Henson said.

According to Ainsley Dorsey, a government major sophomore and Hook-the-Vote co-director, if the campus shuts down, it would greatly decrease students' ability to vote because students need to figure out where they need to live and how they are going to vote immediately. Dorsey believes that it is the university administration's job to provide clear communication on how to vote and requesting a mail-in ballot.

"Provide a broadcast in some ways to say, 'Here's the link to the Travis County website, then list all of the information you need to vote by mail, and here's how you can apply for it'," Dorsey said.

On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order for Texas counties to have no more than one drop-off location for voters casting mail-in ballots, forcing Travis County to drop three of their drive-through locations. The order is currently being challenged by voting rights advocates and civic groups. Starting Oct. 2, only 5501 Airport Boulevard will be open for hand delivery from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are planning to vote in person, the county provides a lot of PPE, including finger gloves, hand sanitizers, and sanitary utensils.

While Travis County has confirmed their polling locations and ensures that the polling locations around campus would not be impacted, there are still some concerns. Cole Wilson, the program assistant at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, said if campus shuts down, the county should reconsider whether to hold in-person or conduct all mail-in ballots. Meanwhile, students could plan out the different scenarios during the election season.

If campus closes between Oct. 5 and Oct. 12, students have several different options. Off-campus students could stay where they are until Oct. 13, the first day of early voting, to vote. On-campus students could request a ballot by mail to the county's office. Students can stop by and request mail-in ballot application and fill out the application in person there out of town.

In the case of campus closes between Oct. 13, the first day of early voting, and Oct. 23, the last day to request, students can stop by the two polling locations on campus and vote early from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The second option, students can print out their mail-in ballot requests and deliver them in person or by mail.

Dorsey suggests that if campus needs to shut down during this period, campus should immediately send a campus-wide email sent out to students to make sure that they vote on their way out of town.

In the final scenario, if the campus shuts down between Oct. 24 and Nov. 3, students no longer have the option to request a mail-in ballot. Instead, students should plan to stop by to their nearest polling location and vote during early voting off-peak hours and Sundays.

"Make an effort to show up at like 10 a.m. [or] 3 p.m., like those off weird hours, or show up early but know your own situation because that is more important than the other," Wilson said.

Wilson is optimistic that voting in November would not be as hard as people consider them, though there will be hiccups and problems along the way, he believes that there will always a way out.

"There are more things to consider in 2020 than there was in 2018. There are additional questions that need to be thought of before just going straight to the ballot, but I don't think it would make it harder to vote because I believe that the students are smart, and they would make the best decision for them and the community," said Wilson.