Penn Recognized as an ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting

For Immediate Release: November 17th, 2022

Contact:

Nicholas Williams, Director of Penn Leads the Vote

pennleadsthevote@sas.upenn.edu | vote.upenn.edu

Penn Recognized as an ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting

On the heels of an election that saw impressive turnout among Penn students, the campus was recognized for “making intentional efforts to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement and college student voting”

On November 16, the University of Pennsylvania was recognized as a Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. The distinction is awarded to campuses who participate in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, shared student turnout data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) for the 2020 election, submitted a campus democratic engagement action plan in 2022, and have a signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.

Penn is one of only 394 campuses across the United States to receive the distinction. It comes the same year that Penn was recognized by ALL IN as one of only 70 campuses nationally that had a Highly Established Action Plan. Penn is also one of only 184 campuses, and the only Ivy League university, to participate in the Ask Every Student initiative which recognizes collaboration with nonprofit partners. 

The award also comes just after Penn students showed up in high numbers to vote in the election on November 8, 2022. Thousands of Penn students voted in on-campus polling places, and many more voted by mail, in off-campus precincts, and in their home state. For all Americans aged 18-29, the average turnout for the 2022 midterms was 27% according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University. 

Penn Leads the Vote (PLTV) has been an integral part of engaging students and institutionalizing voting at Penn. On National Voter Registration Day this year, Penn sent out a University-wide message encouraging Penn community members to register to vote and check their voter registration status. President Liz Magill has also attended three PLTV events this semester, including events held during New Student Orientation, National Voter Registration Day, and Election Day. 

Meanwhile, PLTV has worked to reach students through many different avenues. In-person voter registration and education events were held in the fall 2022 semester in college houses, the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, dining halls, athletic events, and the University’s flu clinic. PLTV also engaged with students and community members digitally, including through social media and email messages. PLTV’s website, vote.upenn.edu, had roughly 12,000 users from August 1, 2022 to Election Day, November 8. 

Penn Leads The Vote (PLTV) was established in 2004 and operated by Fox Leadership until 2014. PLTV was re-established in 2018 in the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. PLTV works in collaboration with the Office of Government and Community Affairs, which also oversees Penn’s institutional compliance with voter engagement requirements and on-campus polling location engagement. PLTV also receives funding from Fox Leadership.

High November 2022 Student Turnout

For Immediate Release: November 10th, 2022

Contact:

Nicholas Williams, Director of Penn Leads the Vote

pennleadsthevote@sas.upenn.edu | vote.upenn.edu

2022 SEES STRONG TURNOUT AMONG PENN STUDENTS, YOUTH VOTERS

Thousands of Penn students turned out at on-campus polling locations, while young people nationwide had their second highest turnout in a midterm election since 1994

When Election Day came on November 8, Penn students made sure to turn out to vote. 2,239 Penn students voted in on-campus polling locations located in Houston Hall, the ARCH building, and Civic House. This number does not represent the total number of Penn students who voted, since there are some mail-in and provisional ballots that have not been counted yet. In addition, students registered to vote in off-campus housing voted in off-campus precincts, while many students opted to vote in their home state.

Meanwhile, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University has released early projections on youth voter turnout for the 2022 midterm election. Based on the votes that have been counted as of November 10, CIRCLE estimates that 27% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 voted in the 2022 midterms. This turnout estimate represents the second-highest turnout rate among young people in a midterm election since 1994, trailing only behind 2018.

In 2018, turnout among students at the University of Pennsylvania was 54.7%, which was well above the nationwide youth turnout of roughly 28%. The data on Penn students’ turnout was compiled as part of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, or NSLVE, by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. In addition to having projections on turnout for the 2022 midterms, Tufts also has extensive data on youth turnout in the 2020 presidential election, the 2018 midterm election, and the 2016 presidential election. 

The strong turnout from Penn students comes amid the first nationwide election held since the University transitioned back to in-person classes in fall 2021. The 2020 presidential election saw far fewer students vote in person on Penn’s campus since most students were not allowed to live in on-campus housing in fall 2020. Both during remote learning and since students returned to campus, Penn Leads the Vote (PLTV) has supported student voting by registering students to vote, educating them, and supporting mail-in voting and efforts to turn out students on Election Day. For the November 2022 election, PLTV hosted a table outside of Houston Hall to make sure students knew their polling location and were ready to vote.

Penn Leads The Vote (PLTV) was established in 2004 and operated by Fox Leadership until 2014. PLTV was re-established in 2018 in the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. PLTV works in collaboration with the Office of Government and Community Affairs, which also oversees Penn’s institutional compliance with voter engagement requirements and on-campus polling location engagement. PLTV also receives funding from Fox Leadership.

NSLVE 2020 and 2020 Campus Action Plan Award

For Release: NOVEMBER 9TH, 2021 at 3PM EST

Contact: 

Harrison Feinman and Eva Gonzalez, Co-Directors of Penn Leads the Vote

pennvotes@upenn.edu | vote.upenn.edu

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA VOTED AT RECORD-HIGH RATE IN 2020, SURPASSING THE NATIONAL COLLEGE AND GENERAL POPULATION AVERAGE, ALSO WINS AWARD FOR CAMPUS ACTION PLAN

76.7% of eligible University of Pennsylvania students voted in the 2020 presidential general election, a 9.2% increase from the 2016 election and a 23.1% increase from the 2018 midterm election. Penn students outperformed both the national college student voter turnout rate and general population turnout rate, which were 66% and 67% respectively. 

Students at the University of Pennsylvania achieved record-high voter turnout and voter registration rates in the 2020 presidential election. This accomplishment came even as students navigated the first-ever fully-online semester and other disruptions to the voting process due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even more impressively, almost 89% of students who registered to vote turned out on Election Day, compared to 73% in 2016 and 64% in 2018. Additionally, a record 86.5% students registered to vote in 2020, up slightly from both 2016 and 2018.

While both graduate and undergraduate students achieved record-high turnout, the undergraduate population continues to vote more often. 69% of eligible undergraduates voted, compared to 56% of eligible graduate students. Similarly, first year students voted at a slightly higher rate (71%) compared to the rest of the undergraduate population (68%).

A majority of students still opted to vote in-person on Election Day, but disruptions in campus and voting operations due to the pandemic resulted in a 52% increase in the number of student voters who voted by mail.

This data comes from  the 2020 Campus National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) Report issued by  the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University. This report provides both counts and rates on students who vote on-campus and off-campus, those who vote by mail, and those who vote in person. 

This data coincides with today’s announcement where the University of Pennsylvania won the ALL IN Democracy Challenge’s 2021 Best Action Plan Award for the Pennsylvania Campus Voting Challenge – 4-year Institution. The Action Plan, written by Penn Leads the Vote, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and Office of Government and Community Affairs, outlined the step University took to help students vote and be civically engaged in 2020 and 2021.

These two achievements demonstrate a passionate dedication by University of Pennsylvania students to achieving President Gutmann’s goal of full voter participation by 2028. Continued support from all corners of the campus community will ensure Benjamin Franklin’s mission for Penn to empower its students to be informed and engaged citizens continues to be realized.

The full 2020 NSLVE report for the University of Pennsylvania can be found at vote.upenn.edu/data (after the 9th). The award-winning Action Plan can be found at vote.upenn.edu/briefs.

Penn Leads the Vote (PLTV) is a student-run, non-partisan program that increases voter engagement and voting while advancing Penn’s role of supporting the democratic and civic engagement of Penn students.  PLTV is housed in the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and works in collaboration with the Office of Government and Community Affairs.

National Voter Registration Day 2021

Penn Leads the Vote is proud to have registered about 111 community members on National Voter Registration Day (9/28/21) and engage over 500 attendees. Special thanks to SEAMAAC for hosting a table and HipCityVeg for providing food.

All photos credits of Eric Sucar, University Communications

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