SVSU recognized for excellence in student voter registration and turnout during the 2022 midterm elections

September 13, 2024

SVSU recognized for excellence in student voter registration and turnout during the 2022 midterm elections

ALL IN Awards Day honored Saginaw Valley State University for excellence in nonpartisan student voter engagement and campus turnout in the 2022 midterm elections

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) recognized Saginaw Valley State University for its nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that fostered high levels of student voter engagement in the 2022 midterm elections. SVSU received four awards:

• Champion Award for Most Improved Undergraduate Voting Rate Overall
• Champion Award for Most Improved Voting Rate Overall (including graduate students as well as undergraduate students)
• Best in Class Award for Most Improved Voting Rate at a Public 4-Year Institution
• 2022 Michigan Collegiate Voting Challenge Most Improved Voting Rate: 4-year Institution

These honors reflect the university's commitment to ensuring that nonpartisan democratic engagement is a defining feature of campus life. At SVSU, the nonpartisan Cardinals Vote initiative connects students with opportunities to engage in the democratic system.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. SVSU 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.

Based on this NSLVE data, SVSU earned a Gold Seal from ALL IN. The Gold Seal recognizes institutions with a voting rate of 40-49%. According to the NSLVE report, SVSU's voting rate in 2022 was 48.9%, up from 36% in the 2018 midterm elections.

"I am proud of SVSU's students for actively participating in the democratic process," said SVSU President George Grant Jr. "SVSU is committed to ensuring that all students learn about and participate in elections. Through participation in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and the efforts of Cardinals Vote, we at SVSU empower our students to use their voices, strengthening American democracy. It's encouraging to see these efforts reaping positive results."

"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. 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," said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. "ALL IN is proud to celebrate and honor top-performing campuses, like Saginaw Valley State University, who demonstrate that nonpartisan student voter engagement is possible and effective."

At SVSU, the Cardinals Vote team has used what they've learned from past elections to improve their action plan for the 2024 elections. SVSU was recently recognized with ALL IN's 2024 Highly Established Action Plan seal, acknowledging the university's sound strategies for increasing nonpartisan democratic engagement through civic learning, political engagement and student voter participation.

More than 1,060 institutions enrolling more than 10 million students participate in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, which supports colleges and universities in achieving excellence in nonpartisan student voter engagement. Campuses can join ALL IN here.

ABOUT 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. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives to change civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs on college campuses, making voter participation a defining feature of campus life.

ALL IN, in collaboration with over 1,050 higher education institutions, seeks to make participation in local, state, and federal elections a social norm; substantially increase the number of college students who are democratically engaged on an ongoing basis, during and between elections, and not just at the polls, and; make educating for democratic engagement on college campuses an accepted and expected part of the culture and curriculum so that students graduate with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values needed to be an informed and active citizen.

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