Tough new voter identification laws have shaken up college campuses around the country, where students ? one of the groups most affected by the measures ? are scrambling to comply.
The new laws could also put Republicans in a bind: Even as the party has ramped up its youth outreach efforts ? hoping to siphon some of the youth vote from President Barack Obama ? it has also backed state-level laws that make it harder for college students to vote. The College Democrats have spoken out against the laws, but so far the College Republicans seem unconcerned. The groups? opposing views of the laws mirror their parties? positions: Democrats believe the laws suppress legitimate votes; Republicans insist they?re necessary to combat voter fraud.
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?It?s not about being a Democrat or a Republican; it?s about wanting to be able to vote,? said Alejandra Salinas, president of the College Democrats of America.
A New Hampshire measure that ultimately failed earlier this year stoked Democratic concerns about the law?s true intentions. The law would have ended same-day registration and prohibited most college students from voting from their school addresses.
New Hampshire House Speaker William O?Brien, a Republican, told a tea party group that allowing people to register and vote on Election Day led to ?the kids coming out of the schools and basically doing what I did when I was a kid, which is voting as a liberal. That?s what kids do ? they don?t have life experience, and they just vote their feelings.?
Members of the College Republicans, however, seem to support the measures and are wary the laws will curb youth voting.
College Republican National Committee spokeswoman Alyssa Farah told POLITICO in an email that the organization ?has not taken a formal position? on the laws but doesn?t find them ?overly burdensome.?
?While we see where the College Democrats are coming from with their opposition to these measures, we are inclined to support erring on the side of caution when it comes to countering voter fraud,? Farah wrote.
She said the CRNC wants to make sure young people vote but is ?inclined to support requiring some form of photo ID.?
The past year or so has seen a sharp increase in the number of states passing laws requiring valid state IDs, or photo IDs, in order to cast a vote at the polls. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states now require a photo ID at the polls ? and several others are considering similar moves. One exception is Maine, which voted down a ban on same-day voter registration this November. States like Tennessee and Wisconsin, both of which have recently passed tougher laws, have effectively ruled out student IDs as valid on Election Day because they generally don?t contain required information like a current address.
With the 2012 primary season beginning in just over a month, student groups are scrambling to educate their campuses about new requirements in time for students to vote in the primaries.
?This is unprecedented,? said Rock the Vote President Heather Smith. ?State by state across the country since the 2010 elections, really throughout the past year, we have seen an unprecedented number of attempts to restrict voting rights, in particular for young voters and minorities.?
Many college students don?t have a valid ID from the state where they?re attending school. In order to vote on or near campus, those students would need to apply for and get new state-issued IDs well in advance of primary day or Election Day.
?It?s the opposite of customer-friendly,? said Peter Levine, director of The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
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