20 Vote Everywhere Campus Partners Receive Voter Friendly Designation
(Upper Saddle River, NJ)—Every two years, NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) and the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project designate colleges and universities as “Voter Friendly Campuses.” In order to make the cut, institutions of higher learning are required to engage their student bodies and promote voter registration and voting as part of their institutional missions. The 2019-2020 cohort includes an exclusive list of 123 colleges and universities from around the country who collectively work with nearly two million students.
According to a press release issued by NASPA, the goal of the Voter Friendly Campus designation program is to bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process and develop a culture of democratic engagement on campus. With a goal so closely aligned with The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s mission of making young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy, it is no surprise that 20 Vote Everywhere campus partners are also Voter Friendly Campuses.
“Thanks to the support of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, our Vote Everywhere Ambassadors have the resources necessary to increase voter registration among our students and also encourage students to engage in conversations about important civic issues,” says Kathy Meyer, coordinator of Student Leadership and Service and Vote Everywhere Campus Champion at the University of Louisville. “We are truly fortunate to have Vote Everywhere at the University of Louisville.”
Before receiving the prestigious designation, colleges and universities participated in workshops to develop, facilitate, and report on voter engagement programs for their students. They were evaluated on their ability to write plans to engage student voters during the consequential 2018 Midterm Election, the implementation of their plans on their campuses, and the analysis of their work.
Vote Everywhere Program Director, Karena Cronin, believes the Voter Friendly Campus program is an important part of shifting the culture of higher education’s approach to student civic engagement. “Colleges and universities play an important role in the growth and development of students. That’s why it’s vital that they commit to building a more civic-minded culture on campus, one which helps elevate student voices in our democracy. We are thrilled to join NASPA and Campus Vote Project in working with the higher education community to do that.”
The following Vote Everywhere Campus Partners earned the Voter Friendly Campus designation for 2019-2020:
- Binghamton University
- Bowling Green State University
- Case Western Reserve University
- East Carolina University
- Kutztown University
- Mesa Community College
- Miami Dade College
- Montclair State University
- Stony Brook University
- SUNY Geneseo
- Tennessee State University
- Towson University
- University of Baltimore
- University of Louisville
- University of Michigan
- University of North Carolina – Charlotte
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Utah
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Western Carolina University
About The Andrew Goodman Foundation
Established to continue the legacy of Andrew Goodman, a civil rights worker murdered during Freedom Summer 1964, The Andrew Goodman Foundation partners with America’s colleges and universities through its Vote Everywhere program which provides student leaders with a platform to register and mobilize voters, organize campuses, and collaborate with their peers. To learn more, visit www.andrewgoodman.org.
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