Why ‘Just Voting’ Isn’t That Easy for Out-of-State College Students

Posted by Andrew Goodman Foundation on August 13, 2024

Across the country, students who attend college outside of their home states face barriers when trying to vote at their campus addresses.

Around 1 in 5 college students in the United States attend school outside their home state, a figure that has been growing over the past few decades. For four years, these students have two homes—in legal terms, dual residency—which enables them to choose whether they want to vote at their pre-college or campus addresses.

Convenience and politics play a role in students’ decisions on where and whether to vote. According to a 2020 report by Tufts University, students who register at their campus address turn out to vote at higher rates. Students are also more likely to register at their campus address if they attend college in a battleground state, such as Florida or Wisconsin.

But battleground states are often the most difficult places for out-of-state students to cast their votes—and this will not be unique for the upcoming presidential election. Early registration deadlines, strict voter identification requirements, and a lack of nearby polling stations discourage students from voting at their campus addresses and suppress the youth vote. When such laws are in place, out-of-state students are unable to make a meaningful choice on where to vote.

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