Registering to Vote as a College Student

Should daughter register at home or in college town?

April 2012

My 18-year-old daughter is now a freshman in college and needs to register to vote. Does she register as a resident of her college town or does she register using her home address as her home base? When it comes time to vote, how does this actually work given the long distance? I know she won't care so much about local elections but does want her vote to count in the upcoming presidential election. Any advice is welcome. mom of a new voter

Where a person registers to vote is one of the criteria used to determine a person's state residency, so if your child is attending an out-of-state college, it is best to vote at the home address in California. So she would register to vote using her home address. The way to vote is by absentee ballot--when the sample ballot arrives, have her send in the absentee ballot card (on the back?) that lists the address where she want the absentee ballot to be sent. Leave extra time for this to arrive and be sure your child mails the absentee ballot a week before the election date. Anonymous

Your daughter can register at home or school. Which is usually decided by her interests in local and state races. If she registers at home she also requests an absentee ballot and you mail it to her at school, she votes and mails it in. College mom