Tuesday, November 19, 2013 – 2:00 - 3:00
The federal Higher Education Act requires most colleges and universities to make a good faith effort to provide voter registration forms to students. AACRAO is again partnering with the Fair Elections Legal Network (FELN) to provide free resources to help members meet this requirement and empower students with essential information about voting. FELN is a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC dedicated to reducing barriers to voting for traditionally underrepresented constituencies, including college students. Students are often new voters who move frequently and sometimes face misinformation designed to discourage them from voting. In addition, election laws are rapidly changing, which results in direct barriers to voting and confusion that discourages democratic participation. In the last midterm election (2010), two-thirds of college students who did not vote cited reasons, such as residency issues and missing important deadlines, that have more to do with a lack of information than a lack of interest. FELN started Campus Vote Project in early 2012 to institutionalize reforms at colleges and universities that increase student voting. These reforms will inform students about residency rules, registration options, early and absentee voting dates, and identification requirements. This webinar will highlight state election rules that make voting difficult for students, reforms you can implement on your campus to help students overcome those challenges, and resources that FELN can provide to support your efforts. We strongly encourage you to register early so FELN can identify which states to highlight in the presentation.
Presenter
Dan Vicuna
Campus Vote Project coordinator and a staff attorney at the Fair Elections Legal Network
Dan Vicuna is the Campus Vote Project coordinator and a staff attorney at the Fair Elections Legal Network, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to reducing barriers to voting for traditionally underrepresented constituencies. Dan previously worked at Alliance for Justice where he managed the organizations "Corporate Court" campaign analyzing U.S. Supreme Court cases. He has also worked in communications for a congressional campaign and the League of Conservation Voters. During law school, Dan volunteered at Refugees International Japan and worked as a summer associate at Olson Hagel Fishburn, a law firm in Sacramento, California specializing in political law. Dan has a J.D. from American University and a B.A. in political science from UCLA. He is a member of the California Bar.