The voter registration requirement was included in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. In essence, if a participating school is located in a state that requires voter registration prior to Election Day and/or does not allow the ability to register at the time of voting, then the school must make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to its students.
Schools in most states and the District of Columbia must make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to their students. (Schools in Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are exempt from this requirement.) The school must make the voter registration forms widely available to its students. It must individually distribute the forms to its degree- or certificate-seeking (FSA-eligible) students.
The school can mail paper copies, or, alternatively, it may distribute voter registration forms by electronically transmitting to each student a message containing an acceptable voter registration form or an Internet address where that form can be downloaded. The electronic message must be devoted exclusively to voter registration.
In states where this condition applies, schools must request voter registration forms from the state 120 days prior to the state’s deadline for registering to vote. This provision applies to general and special elections for federal office and to the elections of governors and other chief executives within a state. If a school does not receive the forms within 60 days prior to the deadline for registering to vote in the state, it is not liable for failing to meet the requirement during that election year.
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