Prepare for National Elections on Campus

Your institution should prepare for national elections by meeting legal obligations to give students voter registration information and by safely facilitating and monitoring campus political activities, ensuring these activities don’t break the law.

Voter Registration Requirements

Under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), institutions have a duty to provide students with nonpartisan voter registration information. Colleges and universities can send the information through direct mail or electronically.

If your institution sends the information through direct mail, the HEA requires you to:

• Request registration forms from the state at least 120 days prior to the registration deadline.
• Distribute a voter registration form to each student enrolled in a degree or certificate program and physically in attendance at your institution.
• Make mail voter registration forms widely available to students at your institution.

If your institution sends the information electronically, the HEA requires you to:

• Send the voter registration form for the state where your institution is located (as a direct attachment) or supply an internet address where students can download the form. The National Mail Voter Registration Form contains registration information for every state.
• Devote the email exclusively to voter registration information.

Be mindful of any state and local laws and requirements. If you’re in a state where voters don’t need to register or can use same-day registration, the HEA’s voter registration information requirements don’t apply.

IRS Campaign Prohibitions

The IRS restricts institutions with 501(c)(3) tax status from:

• Participating in political campaigns
• Promoting, endorsing, or showing favor for or against any candidate
• Contributing to political campaign funds, directly or indirectly

Failing to adhere to these guidelines could result in the loss of tax-exempt status, fines for your institution and administration, or lawsuits and investigations. 

Encourage Student Voting

Colleges and universities are places for education. It’s important to encourage learning about and engaging in civics. Institutions can play a key role in preparing students for national elections.

Consider doing the following:

• Provide resources about the voting process. Using easy-to-understand terms can ease confusion around student voting, especially for first-time voters or those away from home.
• Create a staff action plan identifying who will communicate voter information, who will acquire election documents, and key dates for these tasks.
• Remind students of relevant deadlines, including for voter registration and mail-in ballot requests.
• Develop nonpartisan voter information programming that instructs people how to register and vote.
• Provide information about available mail-in voting choices.
• Provide absentee voting information to students studying abroad.
• Promptly provide verification of students’ address and proof of residency when needed for registration.
• Match your institution’s ID with the state’s ID requirements for voting.
• Inform students about which forms of identification and documentation they need to vote.
• Provide election day transportation to polling places.
• Serve as a voting site. Creating a campus polling place can support students’ easy access to voting. For information on becoming a voting site, contact your local elections office.
• Devise a polling safety checklist to help maintain safety and security if your institution serves as a polling location. Topics can include materials needed prior to polling, emergency protocols, and examples of suspicious activity.
• Despite good intentions, institutions can inadvertently violate HEA guidelines, so it’s crucial to understand the issues and work with legal counsel to ensure compliance.

Avoid these common mistakes:

• Supplying political links in place of nonpartisan materials for voter education or registration
• Focusing on a few highly divisive topics during voter education efforts
• Releasing candidate ratings, especially if people assume the ratings represent your institution's opinions
• Coordinating voter education campaigns with political party or candidate events

How to Handle Protests and Freedom of Speech

Elections can bring out strong feelings for candidates or about issues resulting in rallies or protests.

Consider these advance preparations:

• Publicize your campus policies. Educate students throughout the semester and consider creating a resource site like those at Towson University; Michigan Tech; and University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• Ensure your practices align with your policies. Use training to promote policy adherence. When responding to violations, follow the applicable conduct code.
• Rehearse your response plan. Consider conducting a tabletop exercise that includes senior administrators, local police and public safety, risk management, legal counsel, communications, student affairs, and other relevant personnel.
• Coordinate with campus security. Create a security plan that identifies circumstances under which security officers will act. Encourage security outreach and monitoring of groups (student or community) that may be planning election events on campus. Contact these groups and offer to help in their event planning. When appropriate, assign campus safety employees to attend election-related events and follow the security plan. Ensure public safety professionals have the last word in public safety decisions. Don’t allow staff or faculty to overrule the security team.
• Develop a communications plan for responding to demonstrations that includes:
  • How public safety and others involved in managing a demonstration will communicate with each other
  • A backup plan in case the primary communication method fails
  • One or more designated spokespeople with authority to answer questions and address campus constituents and parents, community, and the media on your institution’s behalf
• Publish the location and time of the planned demonstration to give non-participating members the option to avoid the area. Distribute a list of actions that non-demonstration participants should take to stay safe.
• Devise response plans for unplanned protests.
• Learn from past demonstrations. Convene a group to discuss lessons from past demonstrations.

More From UE

Addressing Demonstrations on Campus

Prepare for Violent Protests on Campus

Additional Resources

American Council on Education: Student Voting and College Political Campaign-Related Activities in 2024

United States Election Assistance Commission: National Mail Voter Registration Form

IRS: The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations

Department of Education: Toolkit for the Promotion of Voter Participation for Students

Federal Student Aid: Requirements for Distribution of Voter Registration Forms

Texas State University: Polling Place Safety Checklist