Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt participated today with college presidents from across the state in the virtual kickoff of the nonpartisan 2024 Pennsylvania Campus Voting Challenge.
The PA Campus Voting Challenge is a partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of State and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN), a national initiative that empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student civic engagement.
“Voting is the most fundamental right in our representative democracy, and college educators and administrators are uniquely positioned to encourage our youngest eligible voters to register and make their voices heard,” Schmidt said. “After all, these voters have an enormous stake in the future direction of our Commonwealth and our country. We hope that every young voter becomes a lifelong voter.”
Launched in 2020, the PA Campus Voting Challenge provides support and recognition to more than 75 participating Pennsylvania colleges and universities, which collectively enroll more than 480,000 students. The program presents awards to four-year institutions and community colleges for highest voter turnout, most improved voter turnout, and highest voter registration among eligible students for federal elections. In 2022, 37 institutions in Pennsylvania were listed as one of ALL IN’s “Most Engaged” campuses, more than any other state on the list.
“ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is excited to launch the 2024 Pennsylvania Campus Voting Challenge,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of ALL IN. “Our ongoing partnership with Secretary Schmidt helps ensure that students across Pennsylvania are set up for success this November. We are grateful to colleges and universities for their commitment to civic engagement and helping students make their voices heard.”
Schmidt and other participants in the virtual kickoff encouraged colleges and universities around the Commonwealth to join the PA Campus Voting Challenge. They highlighted opportunities for campuses to submit a nonpartisan civic engagement plan to help register students to vote ahead of the November general election, with a focus on:
- increasing voting rates by helping students form the habits of active and informed citizenship and making civic participation a core value on campus;
- convening campus-wide working groups that include members from academic affairs, student affairs, the student body, and other relevant stakeholders;
- participating in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) in order to measure student voting rates and receive recognition; and
- developing and implementing a data-driven action plan to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation.
A 2024 PA Youth Voting Summit hosted by the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project and supported by ALL IN will be held Sept. 20 at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg, with college presidents, staff, and students encouraged to attend. The 2022 PA Campus Voting Challenge award winners will be announced at the September summit.