Activating the Student Vote: How OSU does Civic Engagement and Election Resources

With the November 2016 Presidential Election right around the corner, college students from around the country have ample opportunities to be civically engaged on their campuses. From registering to vote to debate watch events, it is important that college students are participating in activities that empower them to be active citizens within their communities.  

At The Ohio State University, I currently serve as the staff advisor for OSU Votes, a nonpartisan initiative that registers, educates and encourages students to vote. This student group is committed to providing opportunities for civic engagement and election resources. After working with them for several years, I’ve found at least three ways they fulfil their mission that you might want to consider on your campus.

1.     Peer to Peer Outreach and Engagement

For a lot of students, registering to vote can be overwhelming. It is easy to miss a section on a voter registration form, which can potentially lead to their voter registration not being processed correctly. Through OSU Votes, we intentionally structure all of our outreach efforts to involve peer to peer coaching from a student ambassador. For example, rather than just dropping off a box of voter registration forms at residence hall and having students register to vote on their own, we send student ambassadors to manage tabling events or give a presentation about voter registration. I’ve found that when those conversations occur, students are more likely to correctly fill out their registration forms. They also better understand what they need to do to cast their vote on Election Day.

2.     Get to Know Your Local Board of Elections

Over the past couple of years, I have found it valuable to build a strong relationship with our local Board of Elections. In Ohio, our election laws are constantly the subject of court decisions and state legislation, leading to frequent changes. When developing OSU Votes student voter resources, it has been helpful to have external contacts such as the Board of Elections to help craft language and information to communicate to students. In addition, OSU Votes has been able to partner with our local Board of Elections to coordinate early voting transportation events. Board of Elections offices can be great nonpartisan partner for colleges and universities in their efforts to get out the student vote.

3.     Think Beyond Voter Registration

When I first started advising OSU Votes, we were mainly focused on registering students to vote. While this process is extremely important, dedicating time and effort to encourage students to vote is equally important. This year, OSU Votes has added tabling and workshops after the voter registration deadline that provides students the opportunity check their polling location and collect a sample ballot for the upcoming election. We believe students who have a voting plan will more likely to turn out on Election Day.

I believe institutions of higher education have the responsibility to encourage students to not only participate in local and national elections, but to be active citizens in their communities. It has been exciting to foster a culture of civic engagement at The Ohio State University. What is your campus doing to support students this election?

Jake Cohen serves as the Coordinator of Service & Outreach within the Office of Student Life at The Ohio State University.  In this role, Jake works with co-curricular service and community engagement initiatives that include university wide single-day of service events and a nonprofit internship program.  Jake also oversees OSU Votes, a nonpartisan initiative focused on student voter registration and education at Ohio State.   In addition, Jake instructs a service-learning course within the College of Education & Human Ecology at Ohio State. Jake received his BA in Sport Management from the University of Connecticut and his MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University.

The Ohio State University is a partnering organization with the Voter Friendly Campus designation process organized by NASPA Lead Initiative and Campus Vote Project.