The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.
Registering to Vote
Voting is an important part of being an engaged citizen. Tufts encourages all eligible students to vote!
Who is eligible to vote? In order to vote, you must be:
- A U.S. Citizen
- 18 years old or older on election day
- Meet the residency requirement of the state you are voting in (college students generally meet the residency requirement in the state they are from and the state they are living in while going to college, giving them the choice of where to register)
- Be registered to vote by the deadline in the state where you are voting
- There are certain, uncommon, situations which make an otherwise eligible person ineligible to vote. You can read about those on USA.gov.
Of course, this wasn’t always the criteria. The Library of Congress has a series on the right to vote throughout U.S. history.
Choose where to register to vote
Where you vote is tied to where you live. You can either vote based on where you live during the academic year (i.e., on or near campus) or your hometown (i.e., your permanent address). You can only vote once per election, regardless of how many addresses you have. As you consider where to register, ask yourself:
- What is most convenient for me? Which option will make me the most likely to follow-through and vote?
- Who and what is on the ballot in each place?
- Are there state or local policies or issues that are important to you in either place?
- Is either place considered a “swing district” or a “swing state” where my vote can have a greater impact in the outcome? CIRCLE has research showing where young voters will most influence the 2024 election, called the Youth Electoral Significance Index.
- Do you want to have the experience of voting in person or voting by mail?
- Vote.gov and Jumbo Vote offer further information to help you consider where to register.
Registering
When you have decided where to vote, your next step is to register with that location. All eligible Tufts students can use Tufts TurboVote to register to vote either in your hometown or at your address on or near campus. Each state has different voter registration deadlines, so it’s important to register early.
If you’d like to vote in Massachusetts, you can register to vote by filling out a simple form. You can fill out the form electronically on Massachusetts Online Voter Registration System. Hard copies of the form are also available at the info booth of the Campus Center.