Student Voting Campaign Brief

Information for Higher Education CEOs, Presidents and Administrators.

Postsecondary institutions can play a critical role in supporting our democratic process by ensuring that all students have access to resources and are encouraged to engage in our electoral process. In fact, promoting access to voter registration is a federal requirement associated with participation in the federal student aid programs. Institutions can even use Federal Work-Study positions at their institutions or with federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies to provide voter registration and other nonpartisan get out the vote activities.

Education for All and the associations and state systems that have signed on to our campaign are committed to creating a culture of civic responsibility. We are providing the following resources to help college leaders promote student civic engagement.

In addition to the resources noted below, there are institutional resources available to provide campus-specific voting data and where gaps can be addressed to increase the number of student voters on your campus.

The Voter Friendly Campus (VFC)

The Voter Friendly Campus (VFC) program was started through the partnership of Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education in 2016. By participating in the VFC program, colleges and universities can ensure they meet these standards and go above and beyond to make sure their students are prepared and engage in democracy.

Sign-up to participate in five minutes here. Campuses must write a democratic engagement action plan and a final report to earn this designation. A member of our team will follow up upon your submission.

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN)

Another resource is the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) which works to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation on over 250 community colleges nationwide. ALL IN launched the Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation project in 2020. To date, more than 670 senior leaders have sign the Presidents’ Commitment.

Every year the ALL IN team compiles a compendium of tools to support institutions with their nonpartisan engagement efforts. These can be found in the ALL IN yearly Resource Toolkit as well as the evolving website: Campus Engagement Resources.
Three specific resources include ALLINtoVote.org, ALL IN’s Community College Community of Practice, and the 2024 Student Voting Handbook.

Participating ALL IN campuses can also receive a free custom-branded nonpartisan voter registration portal. The Voter Friendly Campus and ALL IN work jointly to review campus plans and provide aggregated feedback to institutions that participate in both programs to maximize the support they receive without them having to do any additional steps.

Community College Concert Competition! (CCCC)

In collaboration with Levi’s, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios, Good Trouble Collaborative, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN), and the Students Learn Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition, the competition is a nationwide effort to close the voter turnout gap between community colleges and four- year institutions and is exclusive to community colleges.

The campaign is a nationwide competition among community colleges, in which the winner will host a free concert by a major recording artist at their institution.
To participate in the Community College Concert Competition (“CCCC”), campus partners must complete the following steps listed here by September 20, 2024,
The goal is to generate joy, enthusiasm, and celebration around the electoral process this coming fall at community colleges throughout the country, and we’d like your help in spreading the word throughout your network.

Find here a promotional toolkit, which includes template language about the CCCC that can be customized to any outreach.

The Community College Commitment (CCC)

The Community College Commitment is a nonpartisan initiative to narrow the voting gap between students at community college and those at four-year universities. And thanks to the support of Levi Strauss & Co, Community Partner grants will be awarded to support 2024 National Voter Registration Day events held by eligible community colleges across the country on September 17, 2024.

Through voter registration, education, and mobilization initiatives in collaboration with nonpartisan nonprofit partner organizations such as the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition and the American Association of Community Colleges, the participating companies aim to close the voting gap between community colleges and four-year colleges and universities.

The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE)

The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) offers colleges and universities an opportunity to learn their student registration and voting rates and have grounded, impactful conversations about their role in advancing U.S. democracy.

Critical to our broader mission of strengthening college student learning for democracy, NSLVE’s goals are to:

Provide a service to colleges and universities interested in learning about their students’ voting habits
Build a national database for research on college student political learning and engagement in democracy

Voting is by no means the only indicator of civic engagement, but it is fundamental. Studying the voting rates of students provides an important measure that can catalyze improvements in academic programs and co- curricular experiences.

NSLVE Info Sheet: This resource allows you to easily share information about the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) with your campus or organization.