MiddVote translates apathy into action

Author: Tess Russell

Turning 18 signifies several major legal developments in the life of a young American: we can buy pornography and cigarettes, we can be conscripted, we can be tried as adults in criminal proceedings and we can participate in elections. Whether you approached the promise of the voting booth with enthusiasm or apathy, you probably expected that, once you reached the appropriate age, doing your civic duty would be as easy as, well, flicking a switch.

Now, confronted with stacks of paperwork and indecipherable instructions, youth voters across the country are finding registration to be a process that is taxing at best and often virtually impossible.

Sarah Tucker '09.5, who is one of five student heads of MiddVote - a non-partisan initiative supported through independent funding from the Alliance of Civil Engagement (ACE) - along with Trevor Lee '09.5, Julia Szabo '09.5 and Kei Katsura '10, likened the convoluted procedures of some states to "rocket science."

"I think those structural obstacles are the main reason that the youth vote hasn't turned out in past elections," said Tucker. "Voting can be really intimidating and hard to navigate. We don't want to make anyone feel like registering is something they 'should' know how to do - we want them to feel empowered."

MiddVote was started a few years ago by Conor Stinson '06.5 and May Boeve '06.5. The organization became active again during last fall's primary elections, and has helped co-sponsor debate events with the Roosevelt Institution, the College Democrats and the College Republicans in recent weeks. Still, Lee maintained that MiddVote's primary mission is not to inform people but simply to help them get their voices heard.

"Our goal is very simple," said Lee. "We want to make it easier for people to vote and to make the process as horizontal as possible, because some colleges have Web sites that are as confusing and bureaucratic as the [state election board sites]."

Katsura echoed Lee's sentiment that there is "so much fine print on these ballots that a lot of people don't read the directions right and their votes aren't counted."

The MiddVote organizers are not actively seeking official club status and like to think of themselves as a "resource" more than anything else - they encourage students active in party politics to get involved in helping with registration drives on the condition that they "literally take their buttons off at the door," in Tucker's words. All that is required of volunteers is a willingness to read directions deliberately, compile materials and dispense stamps and ballots.

Turnout has been impressive this year, reflecting a larger national trend, and seems to bode well for the upcoming election.

"The challenge," explained Szabo, "is getting young people to see the urgency of how voting affects them. Voting is the only way to be a part of government and the only way to affect change, and when young people don't vote, [elected officers] don't feel any need to aim their policies toward us."

Curious about how your state stacks up to the rest? Well, if you are from New York or New Jersey, consider yourself lucky - registration for you is relatively easy. As for Vermont, our cozy Green Mountain state remains the only one of 50 where citizens must take a "voter's oath." In North Dakota, voters can actually show up unregistered as long as other residents are willing to vouch for them. Compare that to Michigan, where you cannot vote absentee in your first election if you have registered by mail, or to quirky Arizona, where every prospective voter must write a personalized letter to their local election board.