I’m a college student living in another state. How do I vote this year?

A recent poll conducted by CIRCLE revealed that 57% of young people are extremely likely to vote this year.

​​It is expected that in the upcoming elections, more than half of college students will exercise their right to vote.

A study by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education reported “a dramatic spike in political engagement” in the 2018 midterm elections, and expects that interest to continue during the presidential elections.

RELATED: What you need to know to vote in Florida’s 2024 elections

Young people ages 18-34 are poised to be a potential force in the next presidential election.  According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Gen Z youth alone will make up over 41 million potential voters, including 8 million youth who will have reached voting age since 2022.

A recent poll conducted by CIRCLE revealed that 57% of young people are extremely likely to vote.

That interest has already made Republican legislators across the US nervous — as college students typically skew liberal.

Recently, Wisconsin Republicans introduced a bill that didn’t advance, requiring the state’s university system to inform all incoming students about absentee voting in their home states. Wisconsin had the highest youth voter turnout in the nation during the November 2022 midterm election.

Residency laws

As a college student, you can be a resident in two states, but you can only vote in one. If you have a permanent address in one state and attend school in another, you will need to decide where to register and cast your ballot. 

Every state has different residency laws, so you’ll want to look into those laws before you register to vote. 

If your “home” address is not in Florida, you can register to vote in either Florida or your “home” state, but you cannot be registered in both places.

To be eligible to vote in the upcoming election in Florida, the deadline to register to vote is 29 days before each election. 

For more information about registering to vote in Florida click here. (how to register to vote article link)

If you don’t intend to register to vote in Florida, click here for an interactive map to find out the voting requirements in your home state.

If you need to update your registration information because of a change of name, change of address, or change of political party, you’ll need to fill out the National Mail Voter Registration Form.

This form also contains voter registration rules and regulations for each state and territory. You can find it here.

Choosing where to vote

Convenience and deciding which candidates you want to support will be decisive so you can choose where you want to vote.

If you prefer to vote in person, you must register in the state where you will be during the elections.

RELATED: A step-by-step guide on how to register to vote in 2024

If you prefer to vote in your home state and on Election Day, but you cannot go in person to cast your vote, you must request an absentee ballot to be able to vote.

To see the details of how to absentee vote click here.

Are you ready to vote? Make sure to check your voter registration status, see who’s on your ballot, and make a voting plan here.