Why not polls on all military bases also? Tit for tat is fair.

There are already polling places on many campuses.

Don't see this as a pressing need, given the provisions of absentee balloting anyway.

I can't see where placing (or perhaps placing more) polls on college campuses is a pressing reform. For starters, voting absentee is easy enough, and the school would need to be relatively large to make the expense practical. My biggest concern is the risk that students may vote for local matters without the standing to do so since many do not officially reside in the same district as the school. Absentee ballots mitigate against this risk. I will add that some of the prior comments suggesting that students should be discouraged from voting are a bit disturbing. While there may be some merit to these claims, those concerns relate to raising the legal voting age and not the convenience of voting itself. Anyway, even if the costs make sense and the problems can be addressed, I can go either way on this one.

I don't see it as being a good or bad idea; I just don't think people should hold out on high hopes that students will take advantage of their rights to vote, just because there's voting on campus. If they truly want to vote, then it won't matter where it's being held, as most often the places are close enough that it doesn't seem like a burden to go.

Well, they already are. Doesn't guarantee that students vote.

HA, so some of the most mis-educated, insulated, one-dimensional viewpoints can be expressed while passing out on purple Kool Aid? No thanks.

not sure what would be the point of this.

This already takes place.

The decision to have a polling place on a school campus should not be based simply on the fact that it's a school campus. That decision should be based on the physical location of the campus within the greater community and on the population of said campus. If the school is somewhat isolated within the town or has a large population then it deserves its own polling place like any other neighborhood. I don't understand making this a liberal/conservative issue.

Sounds like a good idea to me. It would make voting easier for the kids, as not all college students have cars. The idea that they should not be encouraged to vote because they are liberally indoctrinated is ludicrous. Everyone should vote--we live in a democracy. You can bet I'll be giving my 84-year-old dad a ride to the polls on November 2,even though I know he plans to vote for Bush.

So more uniformed liberally indoctrinated students who haven't worked in the real world can have a greater impact on the election process? No thanks. I sleep easy knowing most of them are too stupid or lazy to find a polling booth.

I'm with Lance. Too many of my fellow students shouldn't be allowed that easy of access. Make 'em work for it. Some of them don't work for much else. (chuckle)

It's somewhat surprising that the democrat party hasn't already drawn up the legislation for this. At least 90% of college students are liberal, it would give the dems a big boost. Oh wait, someone would have to pay for them and maintain them, probably by raising taxes. That's why it hasn't been proposed.

This is an idea that democratic politicians would love, as most college students identify themselves as liberal.

(Alright, I'm biased, I'm the one who suggested this, so of course I'm going to rate it highly). At least around here, it's a pain for college students to vote. Most people seem to believe that the college generation is apathetic to issues such as elections, when many times it's just that we can't get home in order to vote. Many teachers, whose policies include tardiness equals a full absence or there is no excuse for absence, even if you've got a doctor's note (I've had quite a few teachers like that) make it virtually impossible to leave campus for things like elections. It doesn't help in a commuter school; the commute to my voting area from my school and back would have taken at least an hour and a half, not accounting for traffic and the time it would take to vote itself, and many commuters have 30+ mile commutes like that. Then, there are many out-of-state or resident students who don't have any means of travel to get to where they need to go. I know that's what absentee ballots are for, but when you're bogged down with classes and projects, it gets pushed out of your mind until the last minute. Plus, if people see their friends voting, they'll more likely take an interest in it as well and hopefuly become more interested in our government. I know this won't be an easy idea to implement, since we're supposed to only vote in our own areas and we have different things to vote on for particular areas, but if they were to somehow implement it, then perhaps the youth of our country won't seem so apathetic after all. Addition: To BeanoCook: it doesn't mean that polls would ONLY be at university campuses. Think, you fool.

Sure, how many campuses are in Alaska, Wyoming, Hawaii, Maine, North Dakota, Idaho, Nevada? Think you fools.

I think its a great idea. College students are usually more progressive in politics than other people. Besides they are citizens and have a right to be represented. If politicians relize that college students are voting more and more, they will count their interests in their campaign. Also, depending on statistics of how many of the college students do not show up to polls bc of interference to their education, polls on campuses may be required under the 15th Ammendment. It states that government may not administer a standard process or procedure that puts a certain group of voters at a significan disadvantage. P.S. While they are at it, I wanna see polling booth in my high school, so that I can vote too. Just kidding :)

This may actually cause more harm to the voting process than help it. Sure, they made me more convient for the busy college student. However, they are more important factors to discuss. College students who do vote are new to this process. They are just learing how to be fully informed on the truth of their world. Campuses are breeding grounds for anyone to spew out political garbage, from either side of the spectrum, without having any factual backing. Kids will hear what's going around them at their campus, and just head towards the polls without giving their decision some real thought. Chossing the leaders that can control aspects of your life is not a decision to be made in a matter of days or weeks. No doubt that is what will happen if polls are brought to the universities. Also, if voter turnout for the college demographic does go up, it will not be a number significant enough to make their issues a top priority for candidates.

Yes, I think there ought to be polling places on college campuses. Most college students like myself are way too busy sometimes to go vote in elections. Of course, I go for the Presidential and Midterm elections, but the other municipal elections are much more difficult to get around to. I just can't get up and go every time there is one of these. First of all, sometimes I don't know when they occur and secondly I have classes at all times of the day plus I work, so it's difficult to get up and go. Placing polling places on campus will make it more convienient for college students to vote. Of course, local elections are the ones that impact us the most directly because things like funding for roads and schools are variant on this. College students are vastly underrepresented in the political arena. That is why politicians are constantly talking about Medicare and health insurance; old people are the ones who vote. The college age demographic turns out in low numbers. If we do start voting, then the politicians will be forced to talk about everything from education to foreign policy. If we can get voter turnout among college students up to about 60%, it will make us a sizable segment of the electorate. We'll make the politicians answer the tough questions, being that cynical students ask the tough questions. If college students were to vote, it would open up a whole new political demographic to be courted. All what we have to do is vote; most college students are cynics, but if we vote, the political establishment will be forced to listen to us. Placing polls on college campuses will advance that goal.

This isn't that bad of an idea really. It would save me the trouble of obtaining and submitting an absentee ballot.

Of course! Anyone who's against letting college students who can't get home to their districts vote in national elections is just afraid of letting the youth actually speak.

Maybe for people who are not living in their home district. Not for everyone.