ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge honors higher education institutions, educators, and students who increased student voter engagement during the 2020 elections .
ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge hosted its third biennial awards ceremony yesterday to recognize select higher education institutions, educators, and students for their extraordinary work in student voter engagement during the 2020 presidential election. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and most students learning virtually, the honorees ensured students across the country could cast their ballots.
The 2020 presidential election engaged the largest and most diverse group of college students in U.S. history. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH received the 2020 CAMPUS GOLD SEAL. More than 840 higher education institutions enrolling close to nine million students participate in the ALL IN Challenge.
The 2020 election cycle saw unprecedented voter registration and turnout among college students according to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), a research study of the Institute for Democracy in Higher Education (IDHE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. IDHE reported that 66% of college students voted in the 2020 election. Data provided by IDHE shows UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH’s student voting rate increased by 10% from 2016 to an impressive 79% in 2020 (13% higher than the national average of 66%).
“Despite UMD students shifting to a predominantly virtual experience in the fall of 2020, their commitment to civic engagement remained quite high. We see this of course in the large increase in student voter participation in the 2020 presidential election. And students also actively sought many opportunities to provide leadership in student organizations, campus governance, and by providing hundreds of volunteer service hours to many community agencies and partners around Duluth,” said Corbin Smyth, AVC for Student Life.
“The rise in voter participation and engagement for college students in last year’s presidential election amidst a global pandemic was tremendous and will undoubtedly be tied to the tireless efforts of the dedicated students, faculty, administrators, and partner organizations that are part of the ALL IN Challenge network,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “The hard work of these trailblazing honorees will help support many of the country’s future leaders in fulfilling the equitable, engaged vision of democracy to which we aspire.”
About the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge:
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) is a national, nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization. ALL IN strives for a more inclusive democracy—one in which all voices are heard. We believe that higher education plays a role in graduating students into voters and in closing electoral participation gaps that persist by race and age. Through an intentionally designed program—which provides structure, support, and recognition—ALL IN strengthens college and university efforts to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation. Ensuring that students are registered to vote and participate in all elections is a key component of our work.