In the lead-up to the 2024 National Election, OC Votes has been hosting events and using student volunteers to increase voter registration for the 2024 presidential election. As of Wednesday, 1,027 voters have been registered, amounting to 34 percent of the student body, according to College third-year and Democracy Fellow Vivian Friedman. They expect that many other students will vote out of state or have previously registered under the same address.
OC Votes is currently tabling around campus, organizing listening sessions with identity groups, and conducting other initiatives to ramp up efforts as the voter registration deadline of Oct. 7 nears. Afterward, according to College fourth-year and Democracy Fellow Natalie Dufour, OC Votes aims to shift to a more educational approach to further inform students about the necessary steps to vote in Ohio.
Jess Sonney, chair of OC Votes and director of student leadership & civic engagement, wrote in an email to the Review that OC Votes will also be organizing ObieExpress trips for students to vote early in-person at the Board of Elections in Lorain or drop off their ballots in person.
One significant difference that OC Votes has to adapt to from previous elections is Ohio’s House Bill 458.
As of 2023, students are required to use specific kinds of photo IDs, including an Ohio driver’s license, an Ohio state ID, a passport, or a military ID to vote in person instead of using a utility bill that Oberlin previously provided for all students living on campus.
Sonney noted that 92 percent of Oberlin students are from out of state, and many of them do not have an Ohio state ID or driver’s license, meaning that students can vote only with their passport or by mail using the last four digits of their Social Security Number. Online registration is also limited to those with an Ohio state ID or driver’s license. Hence, registration can largely only be done with pen and paper.
In light of that, Sonney wrote that OC Votes has been updating its website with online resources for students to check their registration, find their polling location, research ballots, and communicate with offices around campus to provide accurate voting information, such as Campus Vote Project’s State Student Voting Guides.
According to Sonney, OC Votes’s mission is to provide information to all eligible voters, regardless of whether they are voting in Lorain County. Around 50–60 percent of all students choose to register here. Sonney wrote that, given the number of students that OC Votes has registered, the College is approaching that percentage.
Another OC Votes initiative is the Democracy Fellows Program. According to Friedman, being a fellow entails engaging the Oberlin population in voter registration, voter education, or listening to public opinion. The fellows receive training sessions where they communicate with students on other college campuses regarding their efforts to engage voters.
“So far, Democracy Fellows has been a great opportunity for me to learn more about civic engagement and get involved in Oberlin’s community,” Friedman said.
Oberlin’s campus is also designated as a Voter Friendly Campus since 2018 as part of a program started by the Campus Vote Project and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’s Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement initiative.
“It designates campuses that go above and beyond the Higher Education Act’s requirements that schools distribute voter registration forms to their students,” Sonney wrote about the designation.
As part of the designation, Oberlin submits an action plan that outlines what it will do for voter registration, education, and turnout. Once the plan for this election has been completed, Oberlin will submit the execution summary report for redesignation.
According to Sonney, Oberlin has had a voter turnout as high as 87 percent in 2016. She hopes that OC Votes’ efforts will mean that turnout is high this election cycle as well.
“We hope these efforts will support high voter turnout and engagement with our students,” Sonney wrote.
