New service at UF eases voting process in an effort to energize youth vote

June 13, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To energize the youth vote in a presidential election year, the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service has partnered with an innovative digital platform — TurboVote — that will allow students and others to quickly and efficiently register to vote or request an absentee ballot online from their local election authorities at https://ufl.turbovote.org/.

Boasting Netflix-like convenience for the voting process, TurboVote is an online application system developed at Harvard University that walks users through an automated process, allowing them to complete the necessary forms for registering and requesting absentee ballots. TurboVote then follows up by sending email and text reminders about key deadlines.

TurboVote is being brought to UF through a partnership between the Bob Graham Center for Public Service and a host of civic-centered student groups on campus under the umbrella Gator Coalition for Civic Engagement. The effort will link Florida’s flagship university to other Florida campuses already using TurboVote, including the University of Miami, Miami Dade College and Florida International University.

“Florida’s future is in the hands of its young adults,” Graham said. “TurboVote makes it easy for students to exercise their role as a voter and an active participant in our democracy by cutting through all of the red tape.”

The potential to enlarge Florida’s active electorate is huge. The university’s campus alone boasts 40,000 potential voters. Increasing turnout among even a fraction of that number could shift races in Florida’s often-close elections, in addition to forcing many candidates to campaign specifically for the youth vote.

David Colburn, interim director of the Bob Graham Center, agrees that mobilizing voters on the UF campus could have an impact on the outcome of an election.

“Florida is among a handful of battleground states where the campaign for America’s future will be waged,” Colburn said. “It is critical that we offer pathways that help Florida’s young people become actively engaged in the election. Their future is at stake.”

The Bob Graham Center for Public Service is a community of students, scholars and politically engaged citizens, devoted to enhanced citizenship; the training of current and future public and civic leaders who can identify problems and spearhead change; and the development of policy on issues of importance to Florida, the United States and the global community.