WESTERVILLE, Ohio — College students in Ohio continue to face challenges in preparation to vote. Some have said the latest changes with the state’s voting laws are barriers to the ones they already face on campus.
What You Need To Know
- Legislation signed into law in 2023 prevents college students from using utility bills and their college ID to vote
- Out-of-state college students must vote in their home state unless they trade in their ID for a proper Ohio ID that can be used to vote
- Otterbein University’s campus is split into two precincts, forcing students to vote in two different locations neither of which include the precinct on campus
- Efforts to get students voting at a campus precinct are in the works again
As students get ready for primary elections and the general election later this year, those who are out of state are facing the choice of dropping their home state license for an Ohio driver’s license or approved ID.
This is a switch from years past as they’ve used a utility bill from their respective institution and their college ID to vote.
“I’m a registered Democrat and I feel like my vote is more impactful as a Democrat in Ohio than in Massachusetts and so it was important to me that I was able to vote in Ohio," Phoebe Gibson, a Massachusetts resident who attends Otterbein University, said.
Yet, when she heard the news about the voting ID laws changing, she was shocked especially since she’d voted in Ohio her first two years of school.
“I was kind of disappointed to learn that I wouldn’t be able to vote in Ohio," said Gibson.
So, instead of waiting until March 19, she took time during a trip home on her spring break to vote in Massachusetts.
In the meantime, students at Otterbein living on campus who can vote in Ohio have to either take a 22- or 32-minute walk to their respective precinct if they don’t catch a rideshare or personally have a car. That’s because the campus is split into two precincts.
The Franklin County Board of Elections said that split dates back to 1989. Abby Vitali, works with Raise Your Voice, a campus organization that helps educate students about voting.
“I think it is surprising how our campus is laid out in terms of where people can vote and precincts. So we just try to encourage people to vote early, either absentee or in-person if they can,” Vitali said.
To address the issue of making voting more accessible, students and staff pushed to get a precinct on campus at The Point. Hannah Sturgeon, an Otterbein University Graduate spent time pushing for the change.
“I think the main reason we wanted to get a polling location on campus was to get our students closer to the voting process. That way we could further involve them in the deeper issues rather than just like surface level getting to a polling location, being involved on Election Day," said Sturgeon.
Although the precinct was established, another precinct was moved to the new campus site in 2021, instead of allowing students on campus to vote at the on-campus site. The board of elections indicated that the move was to alleviate parking concerns with the other precinct. Regardless, campus officials noted they’ll be connecting with the board of elections again this year. The hope is that they’ll be able to remove barriers for students voting by making it so they can vote on campus.
At the same time, they’re hoping to address another problem. That’s not receiving mail from the Franklin County Board of Elections. School officials said students providing their residential address, which is their dorm address, is part of the problem, even though that address is what the board of elections requires for voting. The other problem is that what’s required by the board of elections isn’t recognized by the U.S. Postal Service. While board of elections officials have said they were not aware students weren’t getting election information, they’re encouraging individuals to reach out to report it in addition to providing their mailing address.