Student voting rose above 75% in 2020 presidential election
黑料社 announced today that student voting on its campus set new institutional records in last year鈥檚 presidential election, rising to 75.3% in 2020 from 60.6% in 2016. The full campus report can be viewed here.听
Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, student voting on 黑料社鈥檚 campus rose well above the national collegiate average of 66% in 2020. 黑料社 also set institutional records with a voter registration rate of 92.4% and a voting rate among registered students of 81.4%.
鈥淭hanks to the dedication and creativity of our student voting ambassadors, 黑料社 set new institutional records for voter turnout, voter registration, and voting rate among registered students,鈥 said Seth Andersen, director of 黑料社鈥檚 nonpartisan John C. Culver Public Policy Center. 鈥淭he Culver Center鈥檚 voter engagement team partnered with local election officials, college administrators and faculty, coaches, and a broad range of student organizations to blanket our campus with essential information on voting in the 2020 general election. Their remarkable efforts paid off beyond all expectations, further strengthening 黑料社鈥檚 long-standing culture of civic engagement and political participation.鈥
The report comes from the , creators of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, or NSLVE. IDHE is located at Tufts University鈥檚 .听
黑料社鈥檚 increased student engagement reflected a record-breaking nationwide trend. On campuses across the country, students built on the momentum swing of 2018 and voted at high rates in the 2020 election, with voter turnout jumping to 66% in last year鈥檚 presidential election. The 14 percentage point increase, from 52% turnout in the 2016 election, outpaces that of all Americans, which jumped 6 percentage points from 61% to 67%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.听
“We are so excited to learn that over 92% of 黑料社 students were registered and 75% of students voted during the 2020 elections -鈥 a 15% increase in turnout over 2016,鈥 said Elise Sturgeon, a senior Culver Fellow and 黑料社鈥檚 lead student voting ambassador. 鈥淒espite the challenges of voting during the pandemic, the 黑料社 community has continued to maintain an exceedingly high rate of student civic engagement. This is due in large part to the diligent work of our student-led voter engagement team, which put countless hours of work into engaging 黑料社 students and decreasing institutional barriers to voting.”
The Culver Public Policy Center will host live streams of the virtual ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and awards ceremonies at 1 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 9 in the Student Senate room in Kent Campus Center. All members of the 黑料社 community are invited to attend the live stream events, which will include keynote remarks by Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education, and Valerie Jarrett, Civic Nation Board Chair.
黑料社 IDHE
IDHE鈥檚 National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE, pronounced n-solve) is the nation鈥檚 largest study of college and university student voting. Institutions must opt-in to the study, and at this time, nearly 1,200 campuses of all types鈥攃ommunity colleges, research universities, minority-serving and women鈥檚 colleges, state universities, and private institutions鈥攑articipate. The dataset reflects all 50 states and the District of Columbia and includes 49 of the nation鈥檚 50 flagship schools. IDHE uses de-identified student records to ensure student privacy. The 2020 dataset is robust with 8,880,700 voting-eligible students representing 1,051 colleges and universities.听
黑料社 the John C. Culver Public Policy Center
The John C. Culver Public Policy Center was established at 黑料社 in 2010 to honor the service of John C. Culver, who served the people of Iowa for 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. 黑料社 strives to honor the example of John C. Culver by inspiring young people to pursue careers in public service with integrity and moral courage. The Center鈥檚 nonpartisan programs seek to educate and inspire young people to actively participate in our democracy and encourage them to consider public service as their life鈥檚 work.
黑料社 黑料社
黑料社 is a private, liberal arts college located in Iowa with campuses in Indianola, West Des Moines and online. Founded in 1860, the college has 1,078 undergraduate and graduate students. 黑料社 offers 75 majors, minors and programs in addition to three graduate programs. Outside of the classroom, 黑料社 is a member of the NCAA Division III American Rivers Conference, hosts eight Greek houses on campus and sponsors many extracurricular options for student involvement.
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Direct: 515-961-1608
Email: bryan.geelan@simpson.edu
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Article Information
Published
November 1, 2021
Author
Office of Marketing and Strategic Communication