AUP Goes to the Polls

AUP students are back on campus and eager to dive into life in the vibrant heart of Paris, but along with signing up for student clubs, adapting to a new hybrid learning schedule and getting to grips with their course work, students have another major responsibility: registering to vote in the 2020 US presidential election.

AUP is eager to help every American citizen in its community exercise their democratic right to vote. For many AUP students, this will be the first time they are casting their ballot. The University aims to make registering to vote and submitting a ballot a simple and straightforward experience.

Providing Clear Instructions

President Celeste M. Schenck is working with Student Government Association Vice President Andrew Callaghan to get out the AUP vote. Over the past weeks, President Schenck has kept in regular contact with students, faculty and staff, encouraging community members to vote in the election and reminding them of how to do so.

Registering to vote and requesting a ballot from abroad is an easy process. The nonpartisan group Vote from Abroad provides a state-by-state breakdown of registration deadlines and voting guidelines on their website. For those wishing to mail in their ballot, the SGA will provide prepaid postage stamps; please contact sgaaup.edu for more information. Depending on the state, you may also have the option to submit a ballot electronically, either by email or fax. s

Registering Voters on Campus

On September 25, representatives from Vote from Abroad spent the day in the lobby of AUP’s Combes Student Life Center to help community members register to vote and request their ballot. Those providing a state ID or US social security number were able to walk through the process to ensure they could vote this fall. Vote from Abroad will return to campus in October, but students are urged to check the registration deadline in their state and to register online as soon as possible.

Engaging the Community

The Office of Outreach and Alumni Affairs has been instrumental in ensuring our 8,000 alumni, spread across the world, are able to vote on time. AUP is dedicated to sharing easy-to-follow guidelines so that everyone who is willing and able to vote has the information they need to do so.

Though many students, alumni, faculty and staff have already mailed in their ballots, we encourage all those eligible voters who have not yet cast their ballot to make your voting plan today. You can request an absentee ballot online here. For those able to vote in person on November 3, or during early voting, you can find your polling place online here.