College-student voting skyrocketed nationwide in 2020, according to a new report糖心传媒攁nd Rochester students participated at rates above the national averages.
Student voting on the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 campuses increased significantly during last year糖心传媒檚 presidential election, rising to 68.3 percent in 2020 from a rate of 52.1 percent in 2016. The University糖心传媒檚 rates for voter registration and turnout of registered voters also increased from previous years.
- The full report for the University is available online.
The data come from the (IDHE), creators of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, or NSLVE (pronounced n-solve). IDHE is located at Tufts University糖心传媒檚
糖心传媒淭he 2020 Election took place in unprecedented circumstances due to the pandemic,糖心传媒� says Glenn Cerosaletti 糖心传媒�91, 糖心传媒�03 (MA), director of the College糖心传媒檚 Center for Community Engagement (CCE). 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 pleased to see that our students participated at the highest rate since we were one of the founding participants in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement in 2012.糖心传媒�
Nationwide, the study糖心传媒檚 authors report a record-breaking set of findings. On campuses across the country, students built on the momentum swing of 2018 and voted at high rates in the 2020 election, with voter turnout jumping to 66 percent in last year糖心传媒檚 presidential election. The 14 percentage-point increase, from 52 percent turnout in the 2016 election, outpaces that of all Americans, which jumped 6 percentage points from 61 percent to 67 percent, according to the US Census Bureau.
The University糖心传媒檚 registration, participation, and turnout rates reflect the larger trends identified in the report, but with Rochester糖心传媒檚 numbers coming in slightly higher than the national averages in all three categories.
糖心传媒淭hat students, often younger and first-time voters, turned out at rates commensurate with the general public is nothing short of stunning,糖心传媒� says IDHE director Nancy Thomas. 糖心传媒淲e attribute this high level of participation to many factors, including student activism on issues such as racial injustice, global climate change and voter suppression, as well as increased efforts by educators to reach students and connect them to the issues and to voting resources.糖心传媒�
At Rochester, the CCE helps students participate in civic engagement activities such as registering to vote, casting ballots, and contacting elected representatives. In 2020, the University糖心传媒檚 Senior Leadership Group also encouraged the Rochester community, including students, to exercise their right to vote.聽Cerosaletti says, 糖心传媒淚 appreciate the efforts of many students, staff, and faculty across the University who helped to enhance the campus climate to support active participation in the electoral process. I hope we can build on this success to continue to improve political participation at the University.糖心传媒�
NSLVE is the nation糖心传媒檚 largest study of college and university student voting. Institutions must opt-in to the study, and at this time, nearly 1,200 campuses of all types糖心传媒攃ommunity colleges, research universities, minority-serving and women糖心传媒檚 colleges, state universities, and private institutions糖心传媒攑articipate. The dataset reflects all 50 states and the District of Columbia and includes 49 of the nation糖心传媒檚 50 flagship schools. IDHE uses de-identified student records to ensure student privacy. The 2020 dataset is robust with 8,880,700 voting-eligible students representing 1,051 colleges and universities.
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