RESIST. VOTE. RESIST
Since our founding in 1974, the Arizona Students' Association has centered voter registration in our work. As we continue to fight for affordable and accessible higher education, we understand that our issues are impacted by those elected into office. What we have found in our voter registration work is that young people are not apathetic when it comes to voting and often young people have every good intention to cast a ballot on election day.
What stops them? Outdated laws for voter registration, lack of knowledge on how the election process works, complex rules that govern where, when and how an individual votes. These things seem easy for those who have participated in our election process before, but can be quite complex and intimidating for a first time voter to navigate.
In Arizona, young people have additional hurdles to overcome. These hurdles include a dual track voting system. While federally, we are able to register to vote with the last 4 digits of our social security number, Arizona requires an additional identity check utilizing an AZ licence. This disenfranchises out of state students who often don't have this additional identity verification requirement. While these students can now vote in federal elections (League of United Latin American Citizens Arizona; Arizona Students’ Association v. Michele Reagan, U.S. Dist. Court), they are unable to vote in local and state elections which affects them tremendously. Additionally, Arizona state representatives introduce bills every year to stop college students from registering at their on campus addresses.
While, we have been successful in winning out of state students' right to vote in federal elections, and defeating voter suppression bills at the state capitol there is still a lot of work to do in order to protect Arizona students' right to vote. There are many ways that you can get involved.
What stops them? Outdated laws for voter registration, lack of knowledge on how the election process works, complex rules that govern where, when and how an individual votes. These things seem easy for those who have participated in our election process before, but can be quite complex and intimidating for a first time voter to navigate.
In Arizona, young people have additional hurdles to overcome. These hurdles include a dual track voting system. While federally, we are able to register to vote with the last 4 digits of our social security number, Arizona requires an additional identity check utilizing an AZ licence. This disenfranchises out of state students who often don't have this additional identity verification requirement. While these students can now vote in federal elections (League of United Latin American Citizens Arizona; Arizona Students’ Association v. Michele Reagan, U.S. Dist. Court), they are unable to vote in local and state elections which affects them tremendously. Additionally, Arizona state representatives introduce bills every year to stop college students from registering at their on campus addresses.
While, we have been successful in winning out of state students' right to vote in federal elections, and defeating voter suppression bills at the state capitol there is still a lot of work to do in order to protect Arizona students' right to vote. There are many ways that you can get involved.