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.