SWOSU Announces “TurboVote” For Students and Public

turbovote-logo

September 30, 2020

By News Director Jared Atha

An effort to increase overall voter registration and turnout plus reduce the gap between college students who register and students who actually vote is underway at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

According to a recent press release from the university, “TurboVote” is an online tool that helps students vote in every election—local, state and national. It is a product of Democracy Works, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that was started by some graduate students who missed elections while away at school in 2010.

The #dawgsvote effort on the Weatherford campus is spearheaded by SWOSU Political Science Assistant Professor Dr. Heather L. Katz.

Dr. Katz says “TurboVote assists voters to register to vote by asking for the needed information.” Katz goes on to say “A feature of the service is that it sends reminders about deadlines either by email, text message or both.”

The press release also noted that other services provided include, among other things, helping students decide where to register and has residence hall addresses pre-programmed, assists voters with absentee ballots and users can request pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes, assists voters with early voting options, informs voters where their polling place is for in-person voting, informs voters of any changes to the ballot, polling places or times, informs voters what to bring to the polls for ID, and provides a help desk for any and all questions about voting, and TurboVote technology.

SWOSU’s involvement in the program started when Katz and SWOSU Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Ruth Boyd attended the Oklahoma Voting Summit in August and TurboVote was one of the tools recommended. Katz said TurboVote can be used by anyone and not just students.

TurboVote QR Code