Tuesday, Sep 24, 2024
The University earned multiple accolades for its participation in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
by Adam Grybowski
Rider University has been honored once again for its commitment to student voter participation by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, this time for efforts in the 2022 Midterm Election.
Rider earned multiple accolades, including the 2022 MAAC Votes Highest Voting Rate and 2022 MAAC Votes Highest Registration Rate. Additionally, the University was awarded a bronze seal from ALL IN for its campus voting rate, as reported by the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement from Tufts University.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a national nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, works to improve civic learning, political engagement and voter participation at colleges and universities. Rider has been a consistent participant in the challenge since 2016 and remains one of only 394 institutions to receive the inaugural Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting recognition.
“We are incredibly proud of the collective efforts across our campus that have empowered students to make their voices heard in the democratic process,” says Micah Rasmussen, the director of The Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University. “By fostering a culture of civic engagement, we’re ensuring that Rider students understand the impact they can have on their communities and beyond through voting.”
Coordinating voter participation efforts among students during National Voter Education Week and National Voter Registration Day was a collaborative initiative involving, among others, the Rebovich Institute, Rider’s Department of Government, Politics and Law, and the Student Government Association. On Election Day, shuttle services to local polling stations were made available.
For the 2022 midterm elections, turnout of voters between the ages 18 and 29 was estimated at 27%, making it the second-highest youth turnout in a midterm election in 30 years, according to CIRCLE, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a non-partisan, independent research organization focused on youth civic engagement in the United States.
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.
“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,” says Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “ALL IN is proud to celebrate and honor top-performing campuses, like Rider University, which demonstrate that nonpartisan student voter engagement is possible and effective.”