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There’s something about spring semesters that makes them fly by – especially when they’re packed with primary elections. From the moment they stepped back onto campus after winter break, Andrew Goodman Ambassadors hit the ground running to educate their peers about the Midterm Elections, foster civil dialogue in a time of great division, and make civic engagement a natural part of student life.

True to the times, this semester brought mixed news: some campuses had polling sites taken away, while others worked with their local elections officials to train students to staff their campus polling sites. Some campuses navigated new state laws that limit the language they can use or their ability to advocate for their students, while others achieved breakthroughs in institutionalizing voter information. On top of it all, students faced ICE raids and other threats to their civil liberties. The one constant: Andrew Goodman Ambassadors standing up for each other and working hard to break down barriers to student voting and civic participation.

Voter Registration and Institutionalization

• The Campus Team at the University of South Carolina-Upstate created a video with their school mascot walking through the voter registration process. By the end of the semester, they got the video embedded into the main page of their university’s Blackboard online learning portal, so all students and faculty see it every time they log in to register for classes, check announcements, etc.
• Ambassadors at Stony Brook University delivered “STEMocracy” presentations in STEM classrooms, speaking to the intersection of politics and STEM and providing voter registration materials.
• Ambassadors at Bard College held an event for graduating seniors to write and mail postcards to themselves as a reminder to register to vote at their new, post-grad addresses.
• Ambassadors at Texas Woman’s University held an event to recruit and train students to be certified Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs). In Texas, VDRs are authorized to receive and turn in other voters’ registration forms.
  

  The Andrew Goodman Campus Team at the University of South Carolina-Upstate

Voter and Civic Education

• Ambassadors at the University of Alabama received a grant to create and distribute nonpartisan candidate guides for the Tuscaloosa primary and general elections in 2026. 
• Ambassadors used art as a tool to connect students with civic engagement. Miami Dade College, Western Carolina University, and Stony Brook University hosted art shows, competitions, and talks to highlight the role art can play in organizing and activism, while Ramapo College’s theater department performed “What The Constitution Means to Me” and Ambassadors registered student attendees to vote and hosted panel discussions after.
• Campuses celebrated America250: Iowa State University held a reading of the Declaration of Independence, the University of Central Arkansas screened Hamilton, and Montclair State University hosted a lecture series with its President, among others.
  
• Ambassadors at the University of San Francisco created a series of Zines, focusing on absentee ballots and out-of-state voting, how to call representatives, and everything to know about midterms and state deadlines.

The Andrew Goodman Campus Team at Miami Dade College

Get Out The Vote (GOTV)

• Ambassadors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison delivered printers to 10 majority-student wards on Election Day, which students used to print voter ID-compliant “Wiscards” (student photo IDs) right before they voted.
• The Campus Team at Elon University provided shuttles for students to get to the nearest polling site for North Carolina’s primary election.
• The Campus Team at Marquette University hosted a “Dance for Democracy” event a week before the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, creating a space to celebrate democracy and remind students to vote the following week. 
• The Campus Team at Georgetown University worked with their administration to send students emails with state-specific election information for their home states.

The Andrew Goodman Campus Team at Marquette University

Youth Voting Advocacy

• Ambassadors and their peers at Tuskegee University, Towson University, Pace University, Montclair State University, Ramapo College, and other institutions organized trips to their state capitals to lobby for issues affecting students.
• The University of La Verne partnered with the LA County Registrar’s Office on a series of voter registration drives and voter education events, sharing a mission to empower young voters.
• Ambassadors and their peers at North Carolina A&T State University and Western Carolina University continued to show up to Board of Elections meetings to advocate for early on-campus polling sites, which were denied in December
• Ambassadors at North Carolina A&T State University published an Op-Ed titled NC A&T students: Why do we have to keep fighting? in the Greensboro News & Record about the importance of on-campus early voting locations.

Towson University “Tiger Day” at state house

Stay tuned as Andrew Goodman Ambassadors continue organizing into 2026 and beyond.