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Allegany County highlights Frostburg State outreach and student-registration efforts
Summary
Board members reviewed voter-registration outreach at Frostburg State University and high-school registration drives, discussed ways to coordinate campus tabling and orientation materials, and considered student-focused social media and video outreach to boost registration and reduce provisional ballot issues.
Board members and staff discussed voter-registration outreach at Frostburg State University and recent high-school registration activity during the Oct. 7 meeting of the Allegany County Board of Elections.
Administrator (name not specified) and staff reported National Voter Registration Day activities held Sept. 16 at Frostburg State University and visits to six local high schools the week of Sept. 15–19. Staff reported 637 high-school seniors were identified during those visits and 51 voter-registration applications were collected at those events.
Board members and a Frostburg State visitor, Jamie Winters, discussed coordination problems at some campus events where students were directed to online registration instead of being referred to the county table. Members recommended closer coordination so campus tables can direct students to county staff on site. One board member suggested adding registration-and-voting information to student-orientation packets; staff agreed to work with campus contacts to provide materials and to include the county in tabling opportunities during the first week of classes in August.
The board also discussed producing short informational videos and social-media content to explain registration options for students who have moved away from home, the process for requesting absentee ballots from their home address, and guidance to reduce the number of provisional ballots. “If you all help me put something together, I will get it in their bags,” said the Administrator regarding orientation materials.
Members emphasized timing: materials and in-person outreach are most useful during the first week of classes in August and for the November general election cycle; videos and social-media posts were described as useful evergreen materials for ongoing use.
No formal board action was taken; members asked staff to coordinate with Frostburg State staff and to prepare outreach materials and training notices for election judges and student volunteers.
