Inside the Current Issue:

Comments or questions about the site?:
advocate webmaster

This site last updated on:
May 14, 2004

The current issue will be available online within 7 days of printed publication.

Let’s Register Every CUNY Student to Vote!

The coming election in November could be the most crucial test of democracy since the era of World War II. The prospect of regime change in the United States is especially tantalizing right now because the fate of so many fiercely contested issues depends on the outcome. The PATRIOT Act, abortion rights, the war in Iraq and the future of the massive Bush tax cuts are just a few of the issues that we can expect to pan out differently if the next four years belong to a Kerry Administration instead of a Bush. On the local level, democratic governors, state legislators and particularly city officials promise to be much friendlier to public institutions of higher learning in general and CUNY in particular.
This is why it is of utmost importance that CUNY get registered to vote. In fact, the sociology and political science department’s own Frances Fox Piven thought of this a long time ago. She spent 15 years working to put laws on the books that would mandate voter registration in public agencies of all kinds, especially welfare offices, DMVs and public universities like CUNY. After countless frustrating attempts to block the legislation—which came from both Republican and Democratic politicians—Piven and her fellow organizers finally found success when Clinton signed the Voter Registration Act in 1993 (the so-called Motor Voter Act).
That act encourages public institutions of many kinds to offer voter registration services to the people who use them. But it leaves out some of the specifics—especially regarding the question of whether institutions are actually mandated or simply allowed to offer registration to their clients. Here’s what New York State’s partner legislation says about CUNY:

While City University of New York (CUNY) has not been designated as participating agency, and is not required to conduct registration activities beyond distribution of voter registration forms specifically mandated in CLS Elec § 5-211(1), CUNY is not prohibited from implementing more comprehensive voter registration program, including providing assistance in completion of forms, and collecting and transmitting completed forms to Board of Elections.

So CUNY is left out. But they won’t stop us from starting up something more comprehensive of our own initiative, so it looks like that’s what we’re going to have to do.
Let me be very clear: we want every CUNY student registered to vote—and we’d especially like them registered with the special CUNY registration forms with the letter “D” printed in the corner—that way politicians can see CUNY as the powerful voting bloc that it is and should be. So make sure you pick up a voter registration form when you register for classes. You might even suggest to the office person that helps you that he or she actively ask other students to vote.
Once you have yourself covered, it’s time to register your students. You can pick up the stacks of CUNY voter registration forms in the office of Matt Schoengood, located in room 7301. You might want to call there (x 7400) and make sure they have the forms in stock before you go. Once you’ve got the forms filled out you can just return them to room 7301.
You probably shouldn’t propagandize your students as you’re handing them out, but make it clear that the desperate straights CUNY finds itself in right now are linked to the government’s spending priorities. Electing new career politicians won’t turn a turd into gold, but it will put us in a better strategic position when we bargain with these people—especially if we are all registered to vote.

Feel free to contact the Advocate if you have questions about registering your students to vote or if you need registration forms.