All of JagsVote’s work has paid off in a big way. This student group, which provides voter registration information and education to the student body, has led IUPUI to its first-ever recognition on ALL IN’s* 2022 list of Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. This title was only awarded to 394 other colleges and universities nationwide.
IUPUI has been part of ALL IN since 2016 and received two silver campus awards in the past. However, the university’s student civic engagement assistants wanted to do more for the 2022 election cycle.
For the first time, a highly established action plan was created to showcase how IUPUI would actively increase young voter engagement and participation. This action plan was a core requirement to qualify for ALL IN’s list.
"It was really an achievement because we spent all summer on the action plan and our goals. To see that all of our hard work was noticed was really nice for my entire team," said Emily Veensta, student area manager for civic engagement assistants.
"I’m proud of what we’re doing and can see the change that’s being made on campus through our efforts," she said. "Getting to share this information with students gets me excited because they can make a difference. Whether it’s on a federal or school-district level, sharing our voices is really important to how things are run here in Indiana."
Assistant Vice Chancellor of the Office of Community Engagement Jennifer Boehm also echoes the impact of what a student’s vote can do for their community.
"There are so many things in a student’s life that are affected by who has been elected into office, even at the local level," said Boehm. "We want to make sure our students have the confidence while they’re in college of understanding the voting process and how to be an educated voter."
To get the campus community excited and involved in the 2022 midterm elections…
- The University Library became a polling center for the first time so that voting was accessible to students, faculty and staff. Over 980 people voted here on Election Day.
- Both Democratic and Republican student groups started up again in 2022.
- IUPUI coordinated with IUPUI’s Women for Change chapter to host a voting party that registered 150 new voters in one day.
- JagsVote planned events like March to the Polls and Election HQ to provide students with resources prior to voting.
Being recognized nationally only reinforces that IUPUI’s efforts are positively impacting young voters. During the 2020 election cycle, IUPUI saw a 68.1% voting rate, which is higher than most other universities. But IUPUI encourages students to go beyond their votes too.
"We’re always looking to grow our number of registered voters, but it’s also important for students to know how to be active citizens. I’d encourage students to get to know who their elected officials are by following them on social media to see where they stand on different issues," said Boehm.
For students interested in becoming more politically engaged, follow @iupuijagsvote for campus events or visit engage.iupui.edu/vote for voter registration and information.
About ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) is a national nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives to change civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs on college campuses, making voter participation a defining feature of campus life.