Lazy students had no excuse not to vote yesterday, as the Tufts Community Union Senate and Tufts Votes sponsored a shuttle all day, driving between 75 and 100 students to cast their vote.
Student drivers provided more than just transportation: They made sure students who were voting for the first time, as most were, came prepared. Many students registered at their campus addresses did not know their assigned polling spot and came without the proof of residence required to vote at some polling locations.
Such unpreparedness "typically happens," according to Mary Smith, head of Tufts Votes. "It's hard to inform all students what they need to have."
The shuttle was equipped with lists showing where students should vote based on their addresses. Shuttle drivers also took voters to the Office of Residential Life and Learning, where students living on campus could obtain paperwork proving their residency in Medford or Somerville.
But students were still unsure of what documentation they needed and where they should vote and shuttle drivers worked to resolve these issues throughout the day.
Deborah Sleeper, a sophomore living in Wren, was surprised to find herself at a Somerville polling place yesterday afternoon, as she was ineligible to vote there. She said it was easy to get confused living on a campus spanning two cities and several precincts, and expressed frustration at the lack of information in the e-mail advertising the shuttle.
Although there are no statistics available for how many students chose to register at their Tufts address, Smith said many of the students who registered for the first time with Tufts Votes chose to register on campus. "It's easier; it feels more real to vote in person," she said.
Sophomore Adam Chu, who took the shuttle at 1:30 p.m., said that he registered in Somerville "because it's easier than voting absentee."
Smith added that international students with dual citizenship also tend to register in Massachusetts since it is their only address in the United States.
