Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the federal government would be paying college students through the work-study program to register new voters, causing many conservatives to speak out in protest.
“We have been doing work to promote voter participation for students,” Harris said. “For example, we have, under the Federal Work-Study program, now allow students to get paid through Federal Work-Study to register people and to be non-partisan poll workers.”
She claimed that it would allow “young leaders” to be more engaged in the process and allow them to strengthen their communities.
Biden paying student loans so they'll vote for Biden and now the federal government is going to pay to register people to vote for Democrats, why is this okay? https://t.co/RNrYmtbXHp
— Diane (@SoCalValleyGal) February 28, 2024
The decision has angered many conservatives, especially since the Biden administration is essentially using taxpayer money to recruit college students, who tend to be more left-leaning, to vote.
Courtney Britt, the College Republicans National Chairman, said that the Biden administration’s efforts are more likely to benefit one political party over another with its focus group being college students.
“Paying students through the Federal Work-Study program to register voters might sound like just encouraging civic engagement,” Britt said, “but depending on the design and execution of such a program, I think it’s ripe to be politically weaponized.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) strongly criticized the plan, implying that the Biden administration has no morals.
“It’s about as crooked as it gets,” Foxx wrote in a recent email to The College Fix. “Every time I think this administration can’t stoop any lower, I’m proven wrong.”
Foxx, who is the Republican chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said that the program was meant to try and get votes to secure his reelection.
“President Biden is underwater with voters, and he knows it,” she said. “That’s why he’s resorted to misusing the Federal Work-Study program to turn out new voters for his own personal gain.”
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) also responded to the news on X, writing: “This is unacceptable.”
This is unacceptable.
Democrats are now trying to use taxpayer dollars for their get-out-the-vote efforts. https://t.co/119wlmRvGn— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) February 28, 2024
The executive director of the conservative Honest Elections Project, Jason Snead, wrote that the Biden administration is “one step away” from handing out money in exchange for a vote.
🚨Wow:
Vice President Kamala Harris says the federal government will now pay college students to register voters in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
This is one step away from the Biden administration outright paying people to vote for them. pic.twitter.com/30LKcs9XvD
— Jason Snead (@jasonwsnead) February 28, 2024
According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University, Gen Z is a voting force to be reckoned with this election year. With over 40 million potential voters, they could be the determining factor in who will win the presidency.
A poll conducted by Axios and Generation Lab revealed that voters between 18 and 34 are nearly evenly split on who they would vote for. The poll showed that if they were to vote now, 52% would vote for Biden while 48% would vote for former President Donald Trump.
