Afterword: Reflections on the Course “Student Voting: Power, Politics, and Race in the Fight for American Democracy”

In 1976, as a 12-year old, I volunteered on the congressional campaign of Illinois congressman Abner Mikva, knocking on doors and tracking voters as a part of 'get out the vote' efforts.Mikva won in what was an incredibly tight race: he was declared the winner two weeks after the election by a mere 201 votes.His victory was affirmed a year and a half later when the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a "Petition for Recount" by his opponent, Samuel Young, who had alleged errors, irregularities, and fraud.One of the keys to Mikva's success was the strong support of college students.His election was just five years after the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. Indeed, Mikva, who was a strong advocate of the 26th Amendment, strategically cultivated the college vote and relied heavily on student voters from Northwestern University and the absentee ballots of college students studying out of district to carry him to victory.I spent much of the subsequent 20-plus years abroad, studying in Canada and the United Kingdom, doing research in the Soviet Union, and working in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Hungary after 'people power' had torn down the Berlin Wall.In Central and Eastern Europe, I was part of a cadre of idealistic young Americans aspiring to forge a world that respected human rights, abided by the rule of law, and recognized the will of the people as expressed in free and fair elections.I witnessed some amazing things in my time abroad, including Russia's first competitive elections in 1989, where turnout was nearly 90 %.I returned to the United States where I began to work at Bard College.With the 1998 mid-term elections approaching, Bard's director of student activities, Allen Josey explained to me that the Dutchess County Board of Elections (BOE) did not allow Bard students to vote locally.This did not immediately resonate with me: I had lived abroad since I was 17 and had only voted absentee.Then I met with student organizers who were determined to fight for their right to vote locally.Many were passionate about their place in the community, volunteering for local organizations and identifying the Hudson Valley as home.Some literally had nowhere else to vote because they were born nearby or because

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