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​Behavioral studies suggest that demystifying the process of registering and casting a vote can be an empowering experience for students and encourage them to vote. This module offers tools explaining how to register, how to vote (mail vs. in person), and what a ballot looks like. 

​Sample PowerPoint Presentation: 

• How to Vote

The PowerPoint provides “fill in the blank” sections for state specific information and provides links to resources that have this information. These state specific voter guides from Campus Vote Project can help. 

• "Voting as a Student 101" Presentations from the Ask Every Student Toolkit is a template presentation, designed for either in-person or virtual use. It helps students where they are at and address the uestions they are most likely to ask about participating in our democracy

Ask Every Student's Building a Faculty Champion Program on Your Campus:
This is a toolkit for faculty to integrate democratic engagement activities into the classroom-both virtually and in-person. Ideas include:

• Inviting a campus voting organization to give a presentation about voter registration to the class followed by Q&A breakout sessions.
• Making weekly announcements with voter registration information and democratic engagement opportunities

Ask Every Student's Learning Management System (LMS) Module:
This is a template for faculty to create a module on their campus’ LMS (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, etc.)  and ensure students have access to information and support for participating in the voting and democratic engagement processes. The module template includes:

• Engaging in Democracy 101
• Why is democratic participation important to you?
• Registering to Vote and Voting by Mail in [Your State], and more

This module can be accessed on the Canvas Commons or downloaded from the zip file. 

​Classroom Idea: Include a “Make a Plan Vote” Assignment where students must submit an outline of how they would cast a vote.  Social science research suggests people are more likely to vote if they make a plan. This assignment still works for students who ineligible to vote, as it is written hypothetically. 

Scholars Strategy Network's A Faculty Guide to Student Voting in Your Classroom

• This resource provides simplified guidance from the wide-ranging student voting resources on how faculty can include voter registration, education and civic learning into the classroom and in interactions with students. 

STEP 1. REGISTER​

• Decide if you are registering on campus or in your hometown.
  • Note: Some states have unique requirements for voter registration. Check campusvoteproject.org and their state voter guides for more information.​
  • International students can contact their study abroad office and will need to review their country’s absentee voting protocol.
• Voter Registration Deadlines in your state​​

STEP 2. WHAT'S ON YOUR BALLOT? 

• There are many resources to help you figure out what is on your ballot
  • One resource is BallotReady: a digital nonpartisan voter guide for every race and referendum with a mission to make it easy to cast an informed vote every election.
  • Another is Ballotpedia
  • Both websites allow you to search candidate positions, save your picks, and print/send to your e-mail. ​

STEP 3. CAST YOUR VOTE!

• Campus Vote Project: developed state specific guides to help students understand their rights and how to register and cast a ballot in their school or home community.
• VoteRiders.org provides state specific information
• Options to cast your vote (Note: every state's options differs):
  • In Person on Election Day
    • Find your polling location
    • Voter ID: Some states require ID
  • Absentee Voting
  • Vote by Mail
  • Early Voting

Additional Resources:​​

• In Fall 2020, Project Pericles and the Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights held virtual convenings for 30+ faculty (including the Periclean Voter Engagement Fellows) to facilitate sharing voter engagement resources and discussion. Below are slides from these convenings.
  •  Virtual Convening: Resource Overview ​: this convening presented more than 20 virtual tools and resources designed for faculty use, followed by a guided discussion among faculty to share successes, challenges, and ideas. See the "speaker notes" for additional resources shared during the discussion. 
• Campus Election Engagement Project's Voter Education offers: 
  • ​Candidate & Issue Guide: Students often don’t vote because they don’t know where candidates stand and are confused about how to find out more information. This guide offers nonpartisan, state-specific guides to help navigate key positions.​
  • Debate Watch Guide: a guide to some useful approaches, both for getting students to watch key debates and for helping them reflect in their wake
  • Local Office Description: a guide to understand the importance of the roles of local elected officials and their impact on the community 
• Turn Up Turnout (University of Michigan) has sample PowerPoint presentations and facilitator guides that include deliberative dialogue discussions and an overview of the voting/registration process in Michigan. They are available on their website.