<p>My son just sent a request for his absentee ballot so that he can vote in Nov. I haven’t seen anything posted anywhere reminding kids to send in for those ballots so that they can vote. Haven’t heard anyone talking about this either. So I’m just wondering how many of you have college kids who have on their radar that they need to get those absentee ballots (assuming they won’t be home on election day)?</p>
<p>It’s on our list - D is really excited about voting. She was on a college visit for the primary and missed the vote but won’t be missing this one.</p>
<p>My S tells me that his college has registration for out-of-state students to vote in their state.</p>
<p>D2’s absentee request is laying on the front entry table awaiting her signature. (She requested it, but it came while she’s out of town along with her voter’s registration card…) D’s very excited to be voting. In fact, she registered to vote even before she turned 18. </p>
<p>D2 wasn’t old enough to vote in the primary so November will be her first election of any kind.</p>
<p>D’s absentee ballot request form is here, awaiting her return from France next week. She is <em>very</em> excited about voting - it will be her first presidential election (although not her first time voting - she did that in 2006).</p>
<p>My S and D sent in their request for absentee ballots today!</p>
<p>I think they don’t start reminding the kids until they get on campus! 
My son actually voted absentee in the primary, I was quite proud!</p>
<p>I’m in a bit of a predicament, myself. I sent in a request, got the ballot, and subsequently lost it. Now I have no idea what to do.</p>
<p>“D2 wasn’t old enough to vote in the primary so November will be her first election of any kind.”</p>
<p>D wasn’t 18 in the primary, but will be 18 by the election so she was able to vote in the primary. I don’t know if this varies by state. It would seem to be something governed by federal law though. She was pretty excited. She’s only a Sr. in HS so won’t need to vote absentee.</p>
<p>^^that’s a state thing. it doesn’t apply in states like Michigan, which sucks because i turned 18 2 weeks after the primary =[</p>
<p>hyperJulie, you probably should just call or write the election board where you got the absentee ballot and ask what you should do.</p>
<p>Our county and many others in Illinois have a program for students where they don’t have to remember themselves - they sign up with their college address:</p>
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<p>It’s a great idea and really encourages the students to participate in voting.</p>
<p>julie, son had no problems requesting a second absentee ballot. The first one was apparently lost in the mail (or never mailed to him to begin with).</p>
<p>College campuses are great places to be during an election year. The decision is where to vote- absentee for hometown, or in college town. It was easy to register to vote at UW-Madison for the February primary, I’m sure this fall will be equally easy. Often students don’t really care about politics in their hometown.</p>
<p>Is it true absentee ballots aren’t counted unless necassary? If absentees aren’t always counted, I plan to register in Ohio, otherwise I will register and request an absentee for Pennsylvania. Any insight would be great!</p>
<p>Elections are controlled by the individual states, but the fed gov may set forth a specific date. Interestingly enough, during my senior year, my Gov. class petitioned PA gov to allow all those who are 18 by Nov 1st to vote in the primary. Luckily PA already has legislation written, and it is a matter of gaining enough support to have the bill introduce(I was unable to vote in the primary although I may vote Nov 1)</p>
<p>Because of the differences in the laws in each state, it’s very important to research those laws. In MI, for example, if one registers to vote through the mail, one must either apply for an absentee ballot in person or must vote in person in their first election. In addition, MI voters must “show cause” in order to get an absentee ballot. Absentee ballot information for MI is here: [SOS</a> - Voter Information Center](<a href=“http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1633_11619-123989--,00.html#7]SOS”>http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1633_11619-123989--,00.html#7)</p>
<p>Given the amount of purging of voter rolls that has taken place in MI, I also recommend that any MI voter who has not voted recently check here: <a href=“https://services2.sos.state.mi.us/mivote/[/url]”>https://services2.sos.state.mi.us/mivote/</a> to ensure their registration is still valid and up-to-date.</p>