Capturing the College Vote.

• Author: Smith, Anna

Students living on college and university campuses rarely make the effort to vote. Only 18 percent voted in the 2014 midterm election, compared with 37 percent of the total population.

How do we engage them?

Although most college students aren't thinking much about property taxes, public pensions, long-term care and the other concerns that drive their elders to the polls, there are plenty of other issues--increasing tuition rates, the minimum wage, clean water--that many students do care about.

Here are a few ways to increase college students' interest in state government and strengthen the connection between you and any campus in your district.

1. Speak their language.

   Learn how students engage with one another and how they stay informed. What are their social media habits? Are they on Instagram? Snapchat? Fifty-six percent of millennials get their local news through Facebook, and 88 percent of them get at least some news from social media, according to the American Press Institute.

   Simply put, social media is no longer just social. It long ago stopped being just a way to stay in touch with friends. It has become a way of being connected to the world generally: to send messages, follow channels of interest, hear news, share news, talk about it, be entertained, stay in touch.

   Encourage students to connect with your website. Talk about the issues they care about. Tell a story about your own college experience and how state politics affected you at the time. Students want to interact with and follow people who are genuine, people they can relate to.

2. Clarify without talking down to them.

   Research shows Americans know and understand little about our system of representative democracy. To engage with students from all levels, spend time with the general student population, not just the political science students. Talk with political science professors about conducting a mock legislature, or some other activity, to show how government works.

   Help students see beyond party labels. Counter their skepticism of politicians' motives by demonstrating how getting them involved is more important to you than getting their vote. Talk about some of the universal values lawmakers, regardless of party, stand for. Go to campus events--football game, a musical, a speaker series. Become a familiar face and show you support their interests.

3. Register them to vote.

   Before college students can vote, they must register. If they haven't done that in their home...