Voting in Elections
Participating in Elections
As many students will be first-time voters in this election, the CSL is committed to helping you navigate the process so that you can exercise your constitutional right to vote. There are a number of great websites that are full of information that we will reference in the FAQs below.
How to Vote
You have a few options when it comes to casting your ballot. Before learning more about them, don't forget to Register to Vote and/or Check Your Voter Registration Status.
Option 1: Absentee/ Mail-In Voting
Absentee voting allows you to vote by mail If you are unable to get to your polling place on Election Day due to:
- Injury, illness, disability
- Travelling or being on vacation away from home
- Being a student at an out-of-state college or university
- Being a member of the military of part of a military family stationed overseas
- Being a U.S. citizen that currently resides overseas
Check your state's absentee/ mail-in voting rules and request an absentee ballot.
Option 2: Early Voting
Early Voting allows registered voters cast their ballots on specified dates before Election Day- most states offer this voting option. Check to see whether your state offers early voting.
Option 3: Voting on Election Day
Voting on Election Day involves going in-person to your official polling place and casting a ballot. Locate your polling place. Election Day nearly always falls on a Tuesday, so keep that in mind as you make your plan to vote.
You may vote by provisional ballot if there is any question about your eligibility. There are a number of reasons why you might be denied, such as not re-registering after a change of address. Ask the poll workers for a provisional ballot.
Campus Vote Project has created voting guides for college students in each state, complete with deadlines, FAQs and more- visit campusvoteproject.org and select your state to get started!
Where to Vote
Students attending college have a choice about where to register to vote! They may register at their campus address or choose to remain registered at their permanent/home address. This is completely the choice of the student and where they would like to vote.
If an out-of-state student at KU would like to vote in Kansas, their Student ID works as a form of voter identification if they choose to vote in person. Visit Campus Vote Project's Kansas State Voting Guide to learn more!
Your address will affect who is listed on your ballot. For instance, if you are from Michigan, but register to vote in Kansas, you will only be able to vote for candidates that represent Kansas.
Making Election-Related Decisions
Deciding who to vote for in local, state, and national elections can sometimes be difficult. The most important and helpful piece of advice we can give is to do your research on the candidates before filling out your mail-in ballot or heading to the voting booth.
- Kansas Secretary of State Candidate List: Check out who will be on the ballot for the primary in August, and the general election in November, navigate to each candidate's website for more information about their platform!
- Issue Voter: "vote" on bills in Congress and see how often your representatives' opinions match yours.
- VoteSmart: determine candidates that do or do not share your personal views on issues.
- ProCon.org: provides arguments for and against a given statement such as, "should the US implement a Universal Base Income?" or "should the US adopt a climate change plan such as the Green New Deal?"
- AllSides: Curates stories from right, center and left-leaning media so readers can easily compare how bias influences reporting on each topic
- Fact Check: monitors factual accuracy of what is said by U.S. political constituencies
- Open Secrets: tracks how much and where candidates get their money
- Politifact: rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials
- ProPublica: produces investigative journalism in the public interest
- Snopes: researches urban legends and rumors