Art by Ava Miller
Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
The falling leaves and temperature are an indicator of a new season many know and love: election season. Reaching the ballot is important, but it’s increasingly — and unnecessarily — difficult for those far from home.
Though many students only travel a few hours, Pepperdine prides itself on locational diversity, with nearly half of the student body being from out of state or out of the country, according to College Factual. Being away from their hometowns, not all students have the ability to travel for in-person voting.
A study that sampled over 1,000 colleges and universities in the country found that 76% of college students are registered to vote, yet 53% of these students voted in the 2024 election, according to The Tisch College Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University (CIRCLE). Because that was the year of a presidential cycle, the turnout is typically higher than mid-term years, which saw 23% of college students vote, according to CIRCLE at Tufts University.
While these numbers have typically increased over the years, college-aged citizens in the 18-to-24 years range have consistently had the lowest participation rate out of all other groups, according to CIRCLE at Tufts University.
Policy matters when looking at these discrepancies. The first step, registering to vote, isn’t a simple process, nor the same across each state. Many states don’t allow online registration, requiring physical forms to be mailed to a county registrar’s office, according to USAGov.
The common justification for a strict, lengthy process is to secure the voting process from foreign influence, as claimed by Law Shun, yet many citizens feel these methods are inconvenient and are methods of voter suppression, according to the Harvard Kennedy Center.
Federal and state elections — though debated in many states with a lack of state constitutional mention, according to Ballotpedia — require the voter to be a U.S. citizen, according to Vote.gov. Valid documents vary across different states. Some accept photo identification such as a driver’s license, passport or state identification. Others accept non-photo identification like birth certificates, Social Security cards and bank statements, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation.
Possessing updated identification for voter registration is more difficult for those outside of the middle and upper classes. For example, 41% of those without a high school diploma don’t hold an updated driver’s license — updated meaning an accurate name and address — while 35% of this same demographic doesn’t own a license at all, according to a study at the Center for Democracy and Civil Engagement.
These percentages raise more concerns when compared to other demographics without a driver’s license: 24% of those with a high school diploma and 17% with a college diploma. These trends lead to racial, gender and even party disparities, according to the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.
Even birth certificates and Social Security cards can be complicated to obtain for those whose family never applied or lost their copies. Barriers that prevent individuals from getting these basic documents typically include a lack of permanent residence for mailing, high expenses and discriminatory practices, often government agencies withholding identification from those with outstanding debts, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Those are just restrictions for those without an ID, not including outdated information that commonly affects newly-married couples, anyone who has moved residences or transgender individuals, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Mail-in ballots require current information in addition to a documented reason in no-excuse states, where at least one of their provided criteria is met to be valid, according to USAGov. This affects every college student outside of their home county, state or country.
This policy has been adopted in 13 states, while the rest either don’t require proof or have moved to an entirely mail-in system, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
These complications, while aimed at stopping voter fraud, don’t decrease these crimes: They were low to begin with.
Several studies analyzing rates of voter fraud found that 0.000043% of absentee ballots in all general elections were fraudulent, according to Brookings Institution. In-person voter fraud claims yielded similar results; out of over one billion votes cast between 2000 and 2014, only 31 cases were credible cases of fraud, according to a report from News21.
These are examples that predate many of the voting restrictions following the 2020 election. Voter fraud was never a significant problem, at least not cases caused by individual citizens.
These restrictions aren’t stopping the under 100 cases of fraud — they’re stopping millions of citizens from voting. Americans must provide an oath or proof of citizenship to register, yet these policies complicate the process even further. Verification of identity is important, but the government must allow easy and cheap access to statewide ID cards to level the playing field.
With that being said, the most important way to prevent voter suppression is, ironically, voting. Legislators react to pressure; the voice of their constituents matters when in masses.
This country is still a democracy, so though a difficult and complex process, showing up to the ballot box — or post office with an absentee ballot — can defend a sacred process for every American, regardless of race, gender, class or education.
This story was copy edited by Caitlin Murray.
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Contact Julianna Charnecki via email: julianna.charnecki@pepperdine.edu
