Voters have more choices than ever in terms of when and how they cast their ballots. One of the recent changes is that voters can now register and cast a ballot on the same day.
Same day voter registration is changing the way voter mobilization groups are approaching college campuses.
"When I was doing this work before same day voter registration was implemented, it was really almost upsetting getting to talk to a student on Election Day saying, 'Make sure you go vote, this is your polling location,'" says Amber Wilt at the Fair Election Center's Campus Vote Project. "And then realizing that they’re not registered to vote, so then they can't turn out."
Now, college students can register to vote and cast a provisional ballot on the same day, although they’re confronted with a decision about which address to use on the form – the address where they receive snail mail or their living address there on the college campus. Delegate Cia Price is chairwoman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, and she says elections officials will not count the ballot if the form is wrong.
"If you wait until same day voter registration, and you end up putting the wrong address, then your registration could be rejected and thus also your provisional ballot," says Price. "And so, that's why we are saying go on and do it now before the October 24th deadline."
The October 24th deadline is for traditional voter registration. But it's no longer the last day to register. Now, voters can register to vote and cast a provisional ballot all the way until the polls close at 7 pm on Election Day. That’s Tuesday, November 4th.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
