Idaho representative takes stance against extra-credit for voting

Professors extending extra credit to University of Idaho students was initially intended to get students out to vote. Now it’s being reevaluated for its effectiveness and lawful use.  

Idaho House of Representatives member from district five, Representative Caroline Nilsson Troy, has proposed a resolution against providing students with extra credit for voting. The resolution was introduced Feb. 24 and would clarify that employees of public higher education institutions should not offer extra credit for voting. 

Back in 2018, the Associated Students University of Idaho passed a bill supporting the opposite of Troy’s proposal- extra credit opportunities for students who vote. Members of ASUI were concerned with voting turnouts for midterm and general elections and wanted to entice students. 

The original intention of the extra credit incentive was due to the lack of nearby voting locations for UI students and to motivate them to participate in state democracy despite this barrier. The Kibbie Dome has previously been utilized as a polling location, but was later removed, leaving the Latah County Fairgrounds and the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center to serve voters.  

In the 2020 general election, students were able to vote at the Student Recreation Center on campus.  

 Clayton King, a current UI law school student, spoke on his experience of the bill being drafted while he was working as ASUI’s director of policy.  

“We were seeing really low numbers on students actually going out and voting in midterm elections and general elections,” King said. “We wanted to look at ways to potentially encourage students.” 

King said the bill was a formalization of what was presently happening in classrooms with professors extending extra credit. It was officially utilized during the 2018 midterm elections. Although it had good intentions, ASUI’s bill has stirred issues of unfair opportunities and didn’t draw as many voters as it had intended.  

Students alleged that professors had been encouraging them to vote for a specific candidate. Other ASUI members brought up the issue to the UI President Scott Green. The rest of the proceedings remained confidential past this point.  

“We agree that giving an incentive to go vote and encourage students is a good thing, however, utilizing it as a platform for your own political ideals at a university is not acceptable,” King said. “While there was an increase in student voter population, it wasn’t nearly as much as we had hoped.” 

Despite her proposal, Troy also saw the intention of inspiring students to vote through extra credit but has since had students come forward about the disadvantages that have resulted from it.  

“They (students) were really upset that they were being told to go to the polls and vote against this person,” Troy said.  

Another issue brought to Troy’s attention was the possibility of a student receiving the extra credit from voting, then having a higher grade resulting in more scholarship opportunities than a student who was unable to vote.  

“It could be considered a quid pro quo with that because you can get a return from it and it could make you get a better grade, you could be eligible for more scholarships,” Troy said.  

Troy said she didn’t want to discourage anyone from voting and described its importance to the United States. 

“I just felt like there needed to be some clarity on extra credit,” Troy said. “I think it’s an important civic duty.” 

ASUI President Lauren Carlsen, and Vice President Joe Garrett both understand the caution of teachers giving extra credit for voting, but still want the opportunity to exist for students. They also would like for it to be modified to avoid professors pushing students to vote a certain way.  

“We acknowledge the slant some college students do get pressured to vote one way or the other,” Garrett said. “That is something that needs to be brought up, but I don’t think that we should be implementing laws, that actively prevents students from voting or getting to the polls.” 

Troy’s proposed resolution has been printed and a date for the hearing is yet to be announced.  

“As long as we find a way to accommodate for those who cannot vote and find a different way of extra credit for them, I would still be in support of having that as a policy,” Carlsen said.  

Sierra Pesnell can be reached at [email protected]