Politics & Government
The Youth Vote in Athens, Ga.: Travel May be in Store for Many
Students registered in their home communities may not understand how voting laws work.
In 2008, the youth vote helped put President Barack Obama into office. Although there are mixed predictions about whether young people will turn out in such numbers again in 2012, an important question in college towns like Athens is whether they will be allowed to vote when they do go to the polls.
It’s a fact of life that Georgians can vote in one of three ways: in person at your precinct, by absentee ballot, or at your local board of elections where citizens register to vote in advance of Nov. 6.
Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
This can make it tough for students who attend schools away from their hometown precinct or their first student apartment. If the address on a person’s driver’s license doesn’t match the address on file with the voter registration, the would-be voter will be turned away.
The only way to vote is to hustle back to the precinct where they first registered, which might be their parents’ address or their previous neighborhood. In a state the size of Georgia, this might be many hours away.
Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Misconceptions about the law could contribute to low voter participation in a town like Athens, where 34,000 students are enrolled at the university.
Kate Gordon, a 19-year-old sophomore from Atlanta, plans to vote in the election on November 6, but will be casting her ballot in her hometown.
Her first presidential vote, she says, will be her own. “I hear a lot of conservatism from my mother’s side of the family but I know what information to choose when deciding for myself,” she said.
Although Laura Lilly Cotten says that she is not very politically active, she plans to vote in Athens Clarke County, and not in Thomasville, Ga., where she grew up.
UGA students, including Anyunna Phillips, a 22-year-old senior, worry that Georgia’s voter identification law, implemented in 2007, will keep younger voters away from polling places. The law requires Georgia residents to show photo identification when voting at the resident’s polling place.
“They have made it harder to [vote] by requiring all of your personal identification and personal information to match on all of your legal documents,” said Phillips. She is originally from Decatur, Ga, but .has lived in Athens for four years.
Students and other potential voters who want to make sure where they’re registered to vote can click here.
