Booker, Krishnamoorthi Lead Colleagues in Calling on U.S. Department of Education to Facilitate Student Civic Engagement in Institutions of Higher Education
Booker, Krishnamoorthi Lead Colleagues in Calling on U.S. Department of Education to Facilitate Student Civic Engagement in Institutions of Higher Education
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8th) led a bicameral group of over two dozen colleagues in urging the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) to address student voter registration and participation as it formulates rulemaking for higher education accountability. The letter comes as states across the country pass legislation designed to curb the voting rights of Black, Brown, and young people.
“Across the country, voting rights are under attack, and new laws restricting access to voting have been transparently intended to discourage students and people of color from participating in our elections,” wrote the lawmakers to USDOE Secretary Miguel Cardona. “The Department can and should play a significant role in supporting democracy by creating additional nonpartisan opportunities for students to register to vote, keep their voter registration up to date, and participate in state and federal elections.”
The lawmakers continued by highlighting that “Section 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act requires each institution of higher education that receives federal financial aid funds to make a “good faith effort” to distribute voter registration materials and to make such materials “widely available” to students. A college’s good faith effort to distribute voter registration information widely should reflect the most common methods by which individuals register to vote—including, increasingly, online registration—and the deadlines they must meet.”
Given that the USDOE will only complete rulemaking for higher education institutions in early 2022, the lawmakers called on the department to “swiftly issue sub-regulatory guidance that clarifies institutions’ responsibilities under current regulations. This guidance should remind colleges of their existing requirement to distribute voter registration information to students well in advance of state deadlines to register to vote. And, such guidance should strongly encourage institutions to adopt best practices for providing links to voter registration online and through direct notifications to students, including links during course registration and campus-wide email reminders.”
The lawmakers concluded, “Participating in our democracy is consistent with the goals of federal financial aid, and the Department should take swift action to support access to voter registration and voting for students in this rulemaking process. Thank you for your attention to our request.”
The letter follows Senator Booker’s Help Students Vote Act, legislation introduced earlier this year that would strengthen student voter registration and civic participation on college campuses.
The letter was co-signed by the following Senators: Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-NM), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mark Warner (D-VA).
The letter was also co-signed by the following Representatives: Deborah Ross (NC-02nd), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07th), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18th), Terri Sewell (AL-07th), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07th), Stephen Lynch (MA-08th), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05th), and Tom Suozzi (NY-03rd).
The full text of the letter can be viewed here.
