When you were a student, where did you vote?

[4speedy]

Thinking about this because of an email I received from my U.S. Rep Elissa Slotkin (D) this morning.

I live in a very gerrymandered district that usually skews republican.  I LOVE!!!!!! my current Rep, who was kind of a surprise win in my district.  She won by 13k votes in the last election.  Yesterday, Michigan State, which is located in my district, sent all of their students home.  According to her campaign, this could be a (predicted) loss of 9K votes.  This got me to wondering where most people vote when they are away at school.  I registered in my home district and voted by absentee ballot.  I assumed this is what most people did, but maybe I am wrong?

[fernweh]

I voted by absentee ballot in my home district (school was 8 hours from home). I never changed my school address to my permanent address - it never occurred to me that I could/should do that n

[tiki]

I voted locally as both an undergrad and grad student. That may have been because my parents moved and I didn't have an address where I grew up anymore, but I'd also never voted in my home state (since I wasn't 18 yet) so I didn't feel any connection to the politics there.

[SwimDeep]

I was a commuter student in undergrad and then did graduate school online. So when I was in school I just voted in my home district. It never occurred to me that college students would not vote absentee. I can see that having a huge effect on districts that include college campuses.

[wambam]

I voted according to my permanent address (my parents’) via absentee ballot.

Ohio doesn’t require a reason for absentee so it was really easy. I voted all 5 years, but I vividly remember sitting at my desk in my dorm room and filling out my vote for Obama.

Semi related fact I learned last week: in Ohio, absentee ballots are the first counted on election night.

[Vespasia]

I voted in the district where my college was located but I moved there for the entirety of my education. I hated the area I was coming from and had zero interest in returning.

[ally]

Aug 21, 2020 4:01:37 GMT -5 fernweh said:

I voted by absentee ballot in my home district (school was 8 hours from home). I never changed my school address to my permanent address - it never occurred to me that I could/should do that n

This exactly.

[penguingrrl]

In undergrad I voted by absentee ballot with my mom’s address as my permanent address. When I was in grad school Hs apartment (we were engaged at the time) was my legal address, so I voted absentee from that address. When H was in grad school we were full time residents near his campus so that’s where we voted.

[Velar Fricative]

I was a commuter student so home district.

I just realized this will also have repercussions for the census too.

[msmerymac]

Absentee, which I kind of regretted after my parents moved, although they are in a red district in a blue state. I went to college in the same state, in a very blue bubble.

[irishbride2]

At home, but I had many friends who went to school in swing areas so they switched their registration.

[mbcdefg]

I lived at home and commuted to college so I Voted at home

[lilypad1126]

I distinctly remember voting in the 2000 election in my home district with my mom. It was the first presidential election I was eligible to vote in and she and I went to the polls together. I have no idea why I went home to vote there and didn't just request an absentee ballot - I was in college 2.5 hours away and I don't think it was early voting, but maybe it was. After that, when I was in law school in a completely different state, I voted in the district my law school was in.

[was5]

The first election I voted in was for president in 1992 (Clinton/Gore). The Young Democrats organization on campus encouraged people to register locally. I'm not sure why. I can't even remember if the district my college was in was red or blue. It was in San Antonio, but depending on where the district lines were drawn it could have been a wealthy area of SA (which would be more likely to vote R). Maybe that's why the Dems wanted us to register and vote there so we could flip local seats. My parent's home was in a very conservative area in suburban Houston so I'm not sure if my vote as a D would have swayed anything there.

[was5]

4speedy, I didn't realize MSU was part of Slotkin's district. I am in a very securely blue district (MI 14). I was so happy when Stevens and Slotkin won their seats in 2018.

[lemoncupcake]

I registered to vote at school, using the dorm as my address. I’m not sure why or how, since I certainly never changed my address on my drivers license or any other documentation. My legal, permanent address for everything else was my parents house until I graduated. #voterfraud

[konapoppy]

This was a huge deal where I went to college, with many efforts to suppress students from voting locally. I voted absentee.

[Jalapeñomel]

Absentee

[carmenere]

I planned to vote where my school was located because I registered through an on-campus registration drive. Then on election day, I waited in line for two hours only to realize that my wallet was missing and I couldn't vote   still mad about that.

[mala]

I'm ashamed to say I dont think I ever voted when I was in college. I never felt eduacted enough on the issues and canidates to feel like I was making am informed decision. It wasn't until we bought our house and moved here (10+ years ago) that I cared enough to educate myself to vote. At the time I don't recall any of my peers talking about voting, absentee or otherwise. I think many of us didn't bother. Which makes me cringe so much now. @@we have had several discussions with our oldest about voting, why it's important, and why she needs to be informed about the issues. Hopefully she will be more driven to be educated about the issues and vote when she is old enough than I ever was.

[UMaineTeach]

A mix, I think 2 years home and 2 years there.

[sugarplum]

I voted absentee because it was a process to change residency to the state of my University so people couldn't just get in state tuition pricing. I was also a co-op student so I was only on campus for a semester at a time.

[breezy8407]

There were two when I was in college, and I distinctly remember voting at the student union. Not my home state. I lived in the dorms and didn't change my address, and I am ashamed to admit I didn't look into/wasn't educated about it counting locally vs home via absentee.

The second I voted there while living off campus.

[juliej]

My first election would have been 1996, when I was a freshman in college. By 1998, I had changed my permanent address to my college location - I wasn't in a dorm, my family had moved, etc. I lived in my college town for a couple of years after graduating, so that made more sense than voting absentee.

[rubytue]

Undergrad I voted at my parents home. By grad school I was a VA resident and voted at school.

[pixy0stix]

College, and I know a lot of college students also register and vote here.

[LoveTrains]

Aug 21, 2020 6:42:58 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I was a commuter student so home district.

I just realized this will also have repercussions for the census too.

For the census, they are supposed to be counted at their college address.

I registered at my college address during undergrad and voted there.

[sparty04]

I went to MSU and voted at home

[AdaraMarie]

Aug 21, 2020 8:32:04 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

College, and I know a lot of college students also register and vote here.

I went to college where you are and that's where I voted.
I turned 18 too late in the year to vote on the presidential election my freshman year and my 2nd to 5th year I lived year round at the same apartment. I don't remember registering to vote but I'm sure I did it when I got my driver's license at 19. I'm pretty sure I voted twice while I lived there because I think I remember having 2 different polling places.

[picksthemusic]

Absentee (this was before WA was universal mail-in).