A guide to voting in the 2026 midterm elections as a college student
Whether registering in New York or requesting an absentee ballot, student turnout makes a real difference.
Photo by Jacquie Traenkle/The Barnard Bulletin
October 22, 2026
On November 3, voters across the United States will head to the polls for the 2026 midterm elections. In this year’s midterm elections, 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate are up for grabs. Republicans currently hold narrow control of Congress, but a potential Democrat takeover of the House could block much of Trump’s legislative agenda during the two final years of his presidency. This election comes at a time when many young people are dissatisfied with the Trump administration, especially at Columbia.
As students, it is easy to get caught up in a busy workload and forget our civic duty: voting. In a non-presidential, less-publicized election year, it is even easier. The voting process can seem overwhelming and inconsistent from state to state. Though it is now mid-October and there are officially less than 3 weeks until election day on November 3, it is not too late to make your voice heard.
“As cliché as it sounds, it is my civic responsibility [to vote], and I think it’s one of the most important responsibilities and duties that we have as American citizens,” Parini Rao (BC ’28) told The Barnard Bulletin. “Every vote does matter, and I think it’s important that people throughout the country start to have that mindset.”
On campus, there are ways to get involved in the process. Every election year, ColumbiaVotes holds a Voting Week before New York State’s voting registration deadline. This year, they hosted many activities, including collaborations with the Morningside Art Exchange and Book Culture. ColumbiaVotes holds weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 8 pm and voter registration tabling in Lerner from Monday to Thursday from 12 to 3 p.m.
“It’s in the spirit of finding people where they’re at and finding different ways to make people think about voting in the context of their daily life,” ColumbiaVotes Vice President Zoe Berry (BC ’28) said. “I think a lot of students kind of forget about voting registration. The deadlines in New York are pretty generous.”
To register to vote in New York, the deadline is October 24. College students can generally register in the district where they attend school, even if their permanent home is elsewhere. You can only vote in one state in a given election, so which community you want to vote in is a personal decision you should make before registering. For example, if a race in New York matters more to you, it makes sense to vote here.
Though she grew up in Michigan, Rao was approved to vote in New York last week.
“At the end of the day, I decided that New York City is where I would feel the most local impact,” Rao said. “I felt like I had the most opinions and thoughts about it.”
However, if you think your vote counts more in your hometown, then it makes more sense to register in your hometown. For example, does your state have a senator’s race on the ballot? Are there important measures and referendums on the ballot? When in doubt, Vote.org can help you find out what is on your ballot depending on your ZIP code.
If you do not have time to go home to vote on November 3, you must request a mail-in ballot, also known as an absentee ballot. Many states require you to mail an application for a mail-in ballot; then your county will send you a mail-in ballot, and you must send the filled-in ballot back by election day. USPS recommends that you mail your ballot back at least one week in advance of the state deadline.
Ella Hummell (CC ’28) is mailing her ballot to Pennsylvania for the third year in a row.
“I still consider Pennsylvania my home. I’m still very much invested in Pennsylvania politics, and it’s where my family lives,” Hummell explained. “I hope to create a better community back home.’’
Requirements may vary on a state-by-state basis. It is typical for your state’s website and rules to seem archaic and confusing. Luckily, ColumbiaVotes has a partnership with TurboVote, where you can fill in your address where you want to be and think you are registered. The platform then pulls up your voter information and will inform you of important deadlines depending on where you want to vote.
“When we look at the TurboVote data, ColumbiaVotes registers the most voters out of any other Columbia affiliate that uses TurboVote, and we likely register more voters than the University themselves,” Berry said. “I think the University should have more institutional civic engagement and voting engagement efforts.”
In the 2025 New York City Mayoral Election, turnout among voters ages 18-29 tripled since 2021. There were over 260,000 new voters (more than double 2021), and in the primary election, young voters had the highest turnout of any group. Although midterms are usually more low-profile, it is possible that momentum among young voters will continue. At ColumbiaVotes events this year, participation has been high — they rapidly ran out of bagels at their Bagels and Ballots event on Monday.
“There’s a lot of energy within the city that is also dissipating and spreading throughout the country, which is really great,” Berry said. “I think it’s kind of infectious, the idea that we have candidates who are being out-fundraised still winning these races because of the turnout of young people. So, I think it’s kind of a momentum shift in the types of candidates that are running and who voters are responding to.”
