Letters to the Editor
New York Times

To the Editor:

It is an urban legend that colleges and universities are not doing their part to encourage students to register and vote (“Barriers to Student Voting,” September 28). The Times’ claim that institutions are not giving students opportunities to fully engage in the electoral process bears no resemblance to the real activities under way on college campuses. Visit a college campus during the next few weeks, and observe the opportunities to register and engage in civic life and participatory democracy. You will find a level of involvement unmatched elsewhere in society, and dramatically at odds with your conclusion.

The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities conducted a survey of our 930 member institutions last week, which found dramatically different results than the Harvard Institute of Politics/Chronicle of Higher Education study. More than 450 institutions responded to our blind survey. Fully 95 percent have undertaken a campus-wide voter registration effort. A survey by the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers—the people on campus directly responsible for following the HEA mandate—found that 99 percent of institutions are making various efforts to promote voter registration. (AACRAO’s survey results can be read at http://www.aacrao.org/federal_relations/position/miller.htm.)

In fact, higher education institutions across the nation are going far beyond the letter of the law. A wealth of examples is available at http://www.naicu.edu/VoteVoice2004/activities.htm.

Colleges and universities are currently engaged in campus-wide voter registration, education, and motivation activities, as the school year gets under way and America focuses on the election. They have distributed forms to students in registration and orientation packets; voter registration drives are under way in student unions and residence halls; administrators are sending voter registration information and web links to all campus e-mail accounts; political speakers, issue forums, and mock debates are filling campus calendars; and students are bringing polling places to campus.

Since 1996 (two federal election cycles before registration efforts were required by law), the National Campus Voter Registration Project has given public and private institutions across the United States information and tools for registering students, educating them about the issues and candidates, and getting them to the polls on Election Day. In 2004 alone, this project—a nonpartisan effort sponsored by NAICU and 47 other major Washington-based higher education associations—has distributed 15,000 copies of its guide for voter registration and engagement to every institution in the nation.

Through the ambitious efforts of colleges and universities and our partner organizations, such as Rock the Vote and Youth Vote, millions of students have registered for the first time. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 87 percent of all college students registered to vote in 2000—a rate that is significantly higher than the general population. All indications are that as many, if not more, will register in this election.

Sincerely,

David L. Warren
President
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Washington, DC