Why every uni student should register to vote

The world’s been a bit wild lately. We get it. So you might not think it matters, but casting your vote can make a real difference.

Here’s why it’s important to register to vote as a student and decide who governs your future.

The government impacts YOU!

The government influences everything from tuition fees and maintenance loans to the price of travel and affordable housing.

Migration and visa laws impact the number of international students, whose higher fees are a lifeline for universities. Inflation impacts how far your university fees go.

Different governments also have different opinions on higher education. For example, should university be focused on the outcome of greater employability or higher thinking? What does this mean for courses they don’t consider strategically important to either goal?

And if that wasn’t reason enough remember: the government can alter the repayment terms of your student loan - after you’ve agreed to it. So watch closely.

Laws that had a BIG impact on students over the last 15 years

If you’re deciding whether voting at university is important, it might be helpful to know some major decisions have impacted student futures over the last 15 years.

For example:

• 2010 - the coalition government trebled tuition fees from £3,000 to £9,000,
• 2016 - maintenance grants were replaced with maintenance loans, increasing debt for the lower-income student households eligible for them
• 2013 - the government sold £900 million in student loans to a private debt collection company known for “persistent debt recovery practices”
• 2021 - the London weighting subsidy was removed and creative arts funding cut
• 2023 - overseas postgraduates were denied the right to bring their dependents with them, impacting overseas student applications immediately.

What else? Additional benefits of student voting

When university students vote it’s about more than just exercising your right to vote and stating your preference. Voting also helps you to:

1. Engage in the political process and set this habit for life
2. Shape decisions that affect your own future
3. Impact policies that tend to differ in importance between generations such as climate change, technology policy, and social justice
4. Verify your identity to credit score companies—this is important if you need to take out a loan, credit card or other financial contract

Let’s get voting! How to vote as a student. It’s easy!

So you’re not caught out without a vote in the next election, we’ve put together some steps you can follow as your own university voting guide:

1. First you need to register to vote. You can register to vote in the general election in one place, but you can register for the local election in two places, if you consider your student address and your home address to both be your home. This is part of your voting rights as a student.
2. To find out if you’re already registered to vote, you can submit your postcode on the government site or the electoral commission site and get in touch with the electoral services office for the area that it presents to you. It should give you options to call, email or send a letter. If you’re a Northern Ireland resident, you’ll need to enter your details here. Remember, it may take several days for the council to respond to you with an answer.
3. Next, if you’re not already registered, you’ll need to register to vote. You can do this here, and it takes about 5 minutes. You’ll need to know your National Insurance number, your date of birth, your address - this is where you’ll register both addresses if you want to - and your nationality.
4. When it comes to casting your vote, you can vote in person at a polling station, vote by post (although this has to be done in advance - see step 5) or have someone vote for you (this is called a proxy vote, which you can apply for here).
5. (Optional) If you want to submit a postal vote, you can either download and print a form and send it back to your local electoral registration office or apply online. It’s recommended you do this 2-3 weeks before election day.
6. A few weeks before polling day you’ll receive your voting or “polling card” in the mail. If you don’t get your polling card don’t worry, you don’t need it to vote but it helps the staff working at the polling station to find your details.

1. If you’re voting in person, you’ll find where you need to go to vote on your polling card. If you don’t receive your card but you know you’re registered to vote, then you can visit your local council website to find the locations you can go to to vote.
2. Remember to check what time the polling station you’re visiting opens and closes. You don’t want to miss out!

Travelling to vote?

If you’re travelling back home to vote, make sure you check out travel discounts with UNiDAYs before you book your ticket.

If you’d like more voting information for students, why not visit these dedicated NUS or The Electoral Commission resources.