As a student, you have the right to register and vote at either your home address or your campus address.
Registering to Vote at Your Campus Address
The easiest way to register to vote at your campus address is to print and complete a Wayne County registration application available here. All Earlham students have the same address (801 National Rd W, Richmond IN, 47374). Do not mail in your application. Either hand deliver your completed and signed application to the Wayne County Voter Registration Office or drop it off at LBC Rm. 110 and the CCCE will see to it that your application is delivered. This is due to Indiana voter ID laws that require proof of residency if registering by mail.
Registering to Vote at Your Home Address or Requesting an Absentee Ballot
To assist with voting and voter registration, Earlham partners with TurboVote, an online platform that keeps track of registration and vote-by-mail rules for all 50 states. Earlham students, staff, and faculty can sign up with TurboVote for free at earlham.turbovote.org.
You can use TurboVote to register and/or request an absentee ballot for anywhere in the US. TurboVote will provide you with all the necessary forms as well as stamped, addressed envelopes in which to submit your forms. Once you’ve signed up, TurboVote will send you text and email reminders about registration deadlines, upcoming elections, and more.
Indiana Photo ID Requirements for Voting
If you register to vote at your campus address and plan to vote in person in Richmond, be sure that you have an appropriate form of photo ID. Under state law, acceptable forms of photo ID are:
- Indiana Driver's License
- Indiana Photo ID Card
- Military ID
- US Passport
Note: You may not use an out-of-state driver's license to vote in Indiana.
If You Have Trouble Voting
If a poll worker questions that the address on your photo ID does not match your Richmond address, you can explain that Indiana law was amended to state that photo ID’s are used only to verify a voter’s identity, not to verify their residence. If you are asked for documentation verifying your address, such as a utility bill or paycheck, explain that your registration form was hand delivered to the Wayne County voter registration office, not mailed in or completed online and that you are therefore not required to prove your residency.
In disputes where poll workers believe you are not eligible to vote, you should be offered the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot. You should ask to do so if this option is not offered. Casting a provisional ballot means that your ballot choices are recorded but that your ballot will not be counted until you resolve the issue preventing you from voting outright.
In cases where you believe that you have been wrongly prevented from voting, do go ahead and cast a provisional ballot. Be sure to write down as soon as possible the exact reason you were given as to why you could not vote outright as well as the information you are given regarding what you need to do and by when in order for your vote to count. This information will be important when you contact someone to help you look into whether you are wrongly being prevented from voting.
If you believe you have wrongly been kept from casting your ballot, please contact Election Protection by calling 866-OUR-VOTE or visiting their web site at http://www.866ourvote.org and clicking on Indiana to find resources. You can also contact Jana Schroeder, Earlham’s Director of Community Engagement at schroja@earlham.edu or in LBC 110.
Getting Involved
If you're looking to get more involved in local political organization, you can find contact information for the Wayne County Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican parties here.
