BGSU Votes Boosts Student Voter Participation
This article was originally published in BG Falcon Media on October 30, 2019
BGSU Votes, an on-campus organization dedicated to providing non-partisan voter registration and information, is part of a significant spike in voter participation among BGSU students.
According to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, voter participation at BGSU increased from 11.9% to 35% since 2014. The national student voting rate is 40.3% according to another study done by the NSLVE.
Data via The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement Graphic by BG News Design Team
Contributing to a difference of 23.1% in voter engagement at BGSU, BGSU Votes’ programs have encouraged student involvement in the political process from the 2014 midterms to the 2018 midterms.
Maddi Georgoff, a graduate assistant for the Center for Public Impact on campus, spoke about BGSU Votes’ impact on student voter participation and how students can get involved.
“I think BGSU Votes helped increase the student voting participation from 2014 to 2018 by increasing our visibility on campus,” Georgoff said.
She explained BGSU Votes collaborates with organizations, such as Campus Election Engagement Project and The Andrew Goodman Foundation, to increase their visibility.
By providing more resources on their website, holding special events on campus and having their trained volunteers advertise the club and voting registration at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union, BGSU Votes has registered over 689 voters this semester. Georgoff said BGSU Votes aims to “make sure our events are fun, informative and student-focused.”
