Penn State students are becoming more civically engaged — as the university saw a 22.3 percent increase in voter turnout during the 2018 midterm election compared to the 2014 midterm election.
At the 2019 All In Challenge Awards Ceremony, Penn State was the recipient of a silver seal for increasing student voter turnout, with 36 percent of students casting a vote in 2018, according to a press release.
In comparison, 13.7 percent of students voted in 2014.
Additionally, student voter registration increased from 60.6 percent in 2014 to 74 percent in 2018.
Coordinated by Penn State's Center for Character, Conscience, and Public Purpose in collaboration with student organizations, the PSUVotes initiative works to educate students on the importance of their vote and provide information on how to register and vote.
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Director of the Center for Character, Conscience, and Public Purpose Tim Balliett expressed his gratitude to the All In Campus Democracy Challenge in the release.
“A number of individuals from our student governments, student political organizations, and Student Affairs staff coordinated several new initiatives to increase student participation in the 2018 general election” Balliett said in the release. “Due in no small part to their efforts, we saw a tremendous increase in student interest and voting. With the 2020 presidential election on the horizon, we hope to build on the progress we’ve made and increase student voter turnout even more.”
The nonpartisan organization All In Campus Democracy Challenge encourages universities and colleges nationwide to encourage their students to form a habit of being civically active and informed.
With the organization's help, more than 6.2 million students have joined the challenge across 560 campuses.
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