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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In the process of moving out, getting a job, going to college or a combination of the three, college students undergo a great deal of change and mobility. This change in their lives, coupled with Election Day confusion, voter ID requirements \u2014 and now this year \u2014 the possibility of being sent home early due to COVID-19 and distrust of the U.S. Postal Service further threatens the group\u2019s low participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of disruption there,\u201d Paul Beck, professor emeritus in political science who studies voting behavior, said. \u201cVoting, I think, takes second or maybe even third or fourth place beyond or behind many other life concerns.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As made evident on social media and on stage Tuesday at the first presidential debate this year, the U.S. is approaching a contentious election this November between incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden. In past elections, Ohio settled in as a battleground state with the winner often decided by thin margins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, Trump won Ohio by 446,841 votes with 5,496,487 total votes cast statewide. In 2012, former President Barack Obama won Ohio by 103,481 votes with 5,580,847 total votes cast. This year, college students could place the deciding vote with more than 500,000 enrolled across the state as of 2019, according to the Ohio Department of Education.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCollege students, especially with the rate of increased turnout they can have, can have an enormous impact on elections up and down the ballot this year,\u201d Ryan Drysdale, associate director of the voting initiative ALL IN Democracy Challenge, said.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Ohio State, student voter turnout saw a 26.8 percent increase in the 2016 presidential election. In the 2018 election, despite being a midterm which has historically lower turnout than presidential elections, student turnout increased by 313.8 percent, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Students can register to vote or update their voting address at the Ohio Secretary of State\u00a0<\/span><\/i>website<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span>. The registration deadline is Oct. 5.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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