Southern Illinois University Edwardsville earned a Silver Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for having a 2018 campus voting rate between 30-39% in the 2018 midterm election. The award was announced on Nov. 12 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
“We are excited to honor SIUE in recognition of their intentional efforts to increase democratic engagement and full voter participation,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “More institutions like SIUE are changing culture on campus by institutionalizing nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that are resulting in the incredible student voter turnout rates that we’ve seen across the country.”
The 2018 SIUE steering committee consisted of: Gretchen Arnold, political science student and Political Science Association representative; Sara Laux, associate director of the Kimmel Student Involvement Center; Ken Moffett, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science; Myles Nelson, political science student and representative for the College Republicans of SIUE; Zackary Nunn, political science student and representative for the College Democrats of SIUE; Laurie Rice, PhD, professor of political science and coordinator of the SIUE Civic Education Project; and Mark Somma, PhD, political science lecturer.
“This group created an action plan, set goals for increased levels of voter registration and voter turnout on campus, and developed strategies and activities to achieve them,” Rice said. “Additionally during fall 2018, Dr. Somma’s POLS 112 (American National Government and Politics: Leadership and Civic Activism) students registered fellow students to vote, staffing tables in multiple areas of campus including the Morris University Center, academic buildings and residence halls. Then, students in my freshman seminar on Leadership and Civic Activism carried out projects the week of the election, providing voter education resources and encouraging voter turnout.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in student democratic engagement. The challenge strives to be a starting point for a more inclusive democracy throughout the nation, where all voices are heard. The initiative was designed to provide incentive, structure and accountability while supporting and celebrating colleges and universities working to improve political engagement and voting rates on campus.
The nation-wide challenge hopes to make participation in local, state and federal elections a social norm throughout student bodies, while promoting democratic engagement throughout participating campuses’ cultures and curriculums. By joining the challenge, SIUE committed to increasing student voting rates, helping students form habits of active and informed citizenship, and making democratic participation a core value on campus.
“The steering committee was pleased to see a significant increase in voter turnout in the 2018 election compared to the previous midterm election and glad to receive recognition from the ALL In Challenge for our efforts,” Rice said. “Young voters remain underrepresented, though, and there is more work to be done. A team is currently being formed to promote voter registration, voter turnout and civic engagement more broadly for 2020.”
Since the program’s launch in 2016, 568 institutions, enrolling over 6.7 million students, have participated in improving voter participation across the nation’s higher education institutions.