An Election Like No Other:
Supporting Student Voting in a Contentious Election During a Pandemic
This Election Day—now just 11 days away—will be like no other. Like everything about 2020, this year’s elections are a little more com­plicated than they used to be due to COVID-19, and, on top of that, there’s a lot at stake in the outcomes.

This week, we share resources on how institutions can handle this year's elections. In particular, we look at

  1. Ways campuses can support student voting while mitigating their risk of exposure to COVID-19
  2. How to encourage student political engagement and voting in 2020 and beyond.
Click the images below to download the infographics.
Click below to see absentee ballot and early voting deadlines by state.
Institutional Spotlight: Tufts University and University of Iowa
In the run-up to the 2016 general election, Tufts University launched JumboVote as a multifaceted, university-wide initiative to boost political learning, engagement, and voting in that year’s presidential election—and beyond. Spearheaded by Tisch College with support from the Office of the Provost, there are JumboVote representatives in every Tufts school and major administrative department, as well as among the student body. The initiative works to facilitate voter registration, tackle barriers for Tufts students to vote in local communities, increase voter education, and support events and programs that foster political engagement.

From 2014 to 2018, Tufts students more than doubled their midterm voter turnout rate. In 2020, JumboVote is working to achieve another large increase in student participation.

Hawk The Vote was started in 2018 by an undergraduate student in conjunction with the University of Iowa Student Government. As the initiative became more time intensive and the need for voter education became more clear, Hawk The Vote was adopted as an official initiative under the Office of Leadership, Service, and Civic Engagement in 2019. Since its founding, the University of Iowa and surrounding community has seen record youth voter turnout and unprecedented increases in voter registration totals.

  • Helpful links:
  • Step-by-step directions on how to get an absentee ballot request form and an absentee ballot.
  • How to request an absentee ballot request form or voter registration form if a student doesn't have access to a printer.
  • A hotline for students to ask any questions they may have about participating in this election from the comfort of their own home.
  • The Voting Phrenzy Challenge: Executed via Instagram, the challenge gives students an opportunity to win prizes while helping their friends learn how to vote. Students complete a set of tasks. Each task earns a student one entry into a drawing, which will occur on November 4th. Prizes include Airpod Pros, Apple Watch, Amazon Firestick, JBL Clip Speaker, etc.
Watch: Wait There's an Election Coming Up?

An informational short video and TikTok clips made by University of Iowa students explaining how to register to vote and vote by mail.

Outlines additional steps students may need to take if they relocated due to COVID-19.

Additional Resources
General Student Civic Engagement

Research from Tufts University's Institute for Democracy and Higher Education
Virtual Democratic Engagement Toolkit, ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
Visit NEBHE's COVID-19 Resource Page
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Additional questions on what you see here? Send an email to policy@nebhe.org and we will get back to you ASAP.