Following a record voter turnout on campus during the midterm elections, Michigan State University was recognized today by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as a 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting.
The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes colleges and universities for making intentional efforts to increase student voter participation. MSU joins a group of 394 colleges and universities around the country recognized by ALL IN for completing these four actions:
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Participate in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
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Share 2020 National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement reports of campus voting data with ALL IN
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Develop and submit a 2022 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN
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Have a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation
“Our goal this year was to make sure our students made a plan to vote and that we reduced barriers to exercising their rights,” said MSU Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. “We more than succeeded; together, our students made history.”
MSU’s other voter-engagement tactics included:
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Partnering with the city clerk’s office to offer rotating satellite offices across campus between Oct. 10 and Election Day to provide information and voter registration assistance
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Setting up four voting locations throughout campus on Election Day
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Growing its voter-engagement team to include a full-time voter-engagement coordinator
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Offering free rides to transport students to the proper voting location on Election Day
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Providing several information events through its MSUvote initiative
“MSUvote has long been committed to increasing student voter participation and has practiced the tenets espoused by the All In Democracy Challenge. Collaboration is at the heart of all of our efforts,” said Suchitra Webster, MSUvote co-director. “After months of preparation, establishment of satellite offices, support from top university leadership, and partnership with the East Lansing Clerk’s office, League of Women Voters, Campus Vote Project, ASMSU, and so many others, this year’s voting experience was truly a testament to our connected efforts.”
“College student voter turnout has increased since 2016, and this increase has been driven by students. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is excited to expand our ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll to recognize these student voting champions across the country,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “These students registered voters, served on their campus voting coalitions, spearheaded voter education efforts, advocated for campus polling locations and organized other voter engagement efforts to ensure their peers were confident and informed voters.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items, with the support of ALL IN Challenge staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement and voter participation on their campuses. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge currently engages over 9 million students from more than 950 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.