[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 165 (Wednesday, September 23, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E876-E877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 23, 2020

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, yesterday, our Nation marked National 
Voter Registration Day. But it was also a day of reckoning and 
milestone as our Nation surpassed 200,000 COVID-19 deaths. 
Unfortunately, by erecting barriers to voting, we are sending the wrong 
signal to our citizens. We can do better as voting is the lifeblood of 
our Democracy.
  Our nation must take common sense steps like passing the HEROES Act 
with its $3.6 billion for state election grants and reigning in the 
President's politization of the USPS.

[[Page E877]]

  The State of Ohio can also do better. Ohio must add more drop boxes 
for voting, provide universal prepaid postage, and simplify the ballot 
request process.
  While Republican leaders in Columbus and in Washington have wrapped 
themselves in knots, yesterday, I led an Ohio delegation letter urging 
Ohio higher educational institutions proactively educate students, 
faculty, and staff about how to ensure their voice is heard at the 
ballot box.
  I include in the Record our September 22, 2020, letter.
                                    Congress of the United States,
                               Washington, DC, September 22, 2020.
       Dear Ohio College and University Presidents: As our State 
     continues to grapple with the challenges presented by COVID-
     19, our nation is relying on Ohio's colleges and universities 
     to take a leadership role in ensuring access to the ballot 
     box. This duty is particularly important as we commemorate 
     national voter registration day on September 22, 2020. Your 
     institutions play a key role in ensuring that students 
     understand how to access and exercise their constitutionally 
     enshrined right to vote. Under normal circumstances, students 
     face barriers to voting, and in these difficult times, those 
     barriers have multiplied. We ask that each of you to take 
     steps to ensure your institution commits to easing barriers 
     for your faculty, students and staff to vote.
       As we know, the 1965 Higher Education Act (HEA) helped 
     increase access to higher education for low-income and first-
     generation college students. In 1998, recognizing the 
     importance of involving younger generations in the democratic 
     process, Congress expanded the scope of the act to include 
     provisions on student voting. Section 487(a)(23) of the HEA 
     as reauthorized in 1998 specified that institutions must make 
     a good faith effort to facilitate student voter registration. 
     This reinforced vital role institutions of higher education 
     play in educating and encouraging students to vote.
       Your institutions have the opportunity to play an essential 
     role in ensuring that young Americans participate in our 
     democracy by taking simple steps such as designating places 
     where students can complete voter registration forms or 
     absentee ballot requests. Colleges can text students where 
     these one-stop election stations are located and can e-mail 
     students a voter registration link.
       Institutions should share broad voter education information 
     about how to vote, including the following:
        Communicate to your students to ensure they are 
     registered to vote and that their registration information is 
     up to date.
        Explain Ohio's voter ID requirements directly to 
     students and staff with emails, posters or mailers. Students 
     driver's license may be expired this year, but the Ohio 
     legislature authorized individuals to vote with an expired 
     license, which students, faculty and staff may not know.
        Clarify that if a student's current address varies 
     from where they registered when they go to vote, they can 
     vote absentee, with the mailer sent to another address, or 
     they can vote provisionally if they can prove their address.
        Be prepared to educate students on how to vote by 
     mail or vote provisionally in the event that campuses close 
     due to the pandemic.
        Make clear to students that where you register to 
     vote will not affect federal financial aid such as Pell 
     Grants, Perkins or Stafford loans, or your dependency status 
     for FAFSA; being registered to vote at a different address 
     from your parents does not prevent them from claiming you as 
     a dependent on their taxes; and being deemed out-of-state for 
     tuition purposes does not prevent you from choosing to 
     register to vote in your campus community.
        Provide faculty, staff, and students with 
     information about how to volunteer as poll workers.
       Students, faculty and staff at your institutions need the 
     type of nonpartisan voter information described in this 
     letter. In a time where voter disinformation is rampant, your 
     colleges and universities have not only a legal obligation, 
     but also a moral obligation to make your campuses an example 
     of democratic participation. Thank you for your leadership 
     and for taking every step possible to ease the barriers of 
     voting for eligible voters on your campuses.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Marcy Kaptur,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                                  Marcia L. Fudge,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                                     Joyce Beatty,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                                    Sherrod Brown,
                                            United States Senator.
                                                         Tim Ryan,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________