Rider named a 2022 most engaged campus for college student voting

Image

Rider University was honored for its dedication to student voting by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. The University was one of only 394 schools to earn the organization’s inaugural Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting recognition. 

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a national nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization. ALL IN supports and celebrates colleges and universities working to improve civic learning, political engagement and voter participation. Rider has participated in the challenge every year since 2016.

“The research is clear: colleges and universities that make intentional efforts to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement have higher campus voter registration and voter turnout rates,” says Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “Despite ongoing obstacles, these campuses have remained dedicated in their commitment to ensuring that their students are informed and confident voters.”

Rider Votes, an initiative started by the University’s Office of Service and Civic Engagement, launched several efforts to help drive student voter activity. The team connected with hundreds of Rider students during National Voter Education Week and National Voter Registration Day, and expanded its reach even further by integrating voter registration and information opportunities into popular campus events such as Cranberry Fest and Meet the Greeks. On Election Day, Rider Votes collaborated with the Student Government Association to organize a shuttle to the polls for students. 

Rider Athletics also supported the University’s democratic commitment by participating in the MAAC Votes Challenge, an athletics-based initiative developed by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in partnership with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. Of the 11 schools in the conference, Rider was one of only three to submit an action plan to Civic Nation and had the greatest number of coaches and staff take the pledge to vote.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, this year represented the second highest youth voter turnout rate for a midterm election in the past 30 years. “It’s thanks to the great, collaborative efforts of Rider students, staff and faculty that we continue to see an upward trend in student voter participation,” says Joan Liptrot, director of service and civic engagement. 

Since the University’s first year as an ALL IN challenge signatory, Rider has been continuously recognized for its civic achievements. In 2020, the University received a gold seal from ALL IN for achieving a 74% participation rate in the prior election and this past August, Washington Monthly named the University a best college for student-voting rates.