More than 2,100 students at 18 Michigan colleges and universities registered to vote and ask questions about the voting process during a tour of the Mobile Office this fall, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced today.
“During our 3,000-mile 2018 Voter Registration Drive, we provided students with the opportunity to register to vote conveniently while on campus, and we’re pleased so many students took advantage of our Mobile Office’s availability,” Johnson said. “In addition, we did nearly 900 additional transactions, for a total of more than 3,000 transactions during the tour.”
The deadline to register to vote for the Nov. 6 general election was Oct. 9, the day the tour concluded.
The highest turnouts came from University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where the Mobile office performed 388 transactions, Grand Valley State University, with 369 transactions, and Central Michigan University, with 330 transactions. Saginaw Valley State University wasn’t far behind with 325 transactions. Transactions included voter registration, renewing license plate tabs, renewing drivers licenses and much more.
The Mobile Office offered all of the services available at a traditional office. Customers could change their address, renew their drivers license, get their tabs and even join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. Staff were available to answer questions about voter identification, absentee ballots, locating a sample ballot and finding their polling place. Residents could also ask questions about the elimination of Driver Responsibility Fees, including those who have associated debt or a related drivers license suspension.
Johnson said the voter registration drive supplements other efforts to register new voters, including:
- A postcard sent to every 18-year-old on their birthday reminding them to register to vote.
- Voter registration opportunities for newly sworn citizens at naturalization ceremonies across the state.
- Asking customers who come in for personal ID or drivers licenses if they want to register to vote, provided they are U.S. citizens.
