The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge announced Tuesday, Sept. 10, that Pennsylvania Western University’s California campus has again been recognized for its nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that fostered high levels of student voter engagement.
PennWest California received the Silver Seal, reflecting its commitment to ensuring that nonpartisan democratic engagement is a defining feature of campus life. Campuses with 30-39% voter participation in the 2022 midterm elections were awarded the Silver Seal designation.
“The PennWest campuses have a long history of working to encourage student civic engagement – including voter registration,” said Dr. Laura Tuennerman, director of the American Democracy Project at PennWest. “Engaging with elections is a key part of keeping our democracy strong, as is interacting with elected officials in a variety of other ways.”
The American Democracy Project at PennWest leads the university’s voter engagement efforts. The nonpartisan student organization organizes voter registration drives on campus, holds campaign-season events to educate students about the candidates and issues, helps students get to the polls on Election Day, and brings experts to campus to analyze election results.
“Research shows that the best way to get people to vote is to get them to vote. That is, once you vote, you are way more likely to continue voting,” Tuennerman said. “Helping students register and learn about the election process sets them up for a lifetime of participation.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. PennWest California was recognized alongside more than 500 campuses using data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) out of Tufts University, which found that colleges and universities had the second-highest voter turnout among students in a midterm election since NSLVE began measuring this data.
“The ALL IN Awards were created to celebrate nonpartisan democratic engagement and the outstanding campus voter registration and turnout rates achieved by our ALL IN campuses,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “Ahead of the 2024 elections, ALL IN campuses are ready to build on the momentum from 2022 to ensure their communities are ready to make an even bigger impact this fall.”
PennWest California has been recognized in recent years for encouraging students to vote. The Washington Monthly magazine named the campus to its “2020 Best Colleges for Student Voting Honor Roll,” and in 2019, the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project designated Cal a “Voter Friendly Campus” for developing a plan to get students involved in the 2018 midterm elections, facilitating voter engagement and analyzing the initiative’s success.