SPARTANBURG, S.C. (courtesy wofford.edu) — Wofford College’s students have been recognized for having high voter participation through the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN). The college received the nonprofit’s gold seal, the highest recognition earned by a member of the Southern Conference.
According to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE), 66% of college students voted in the 2020 elections, a 14% increase from 2016.
Wofford’s campus voting rate was 75.5%, which was an increase of 25.4% from the 2016 election. Wofford’s percentage of students registered to vote was 93% in 2020, which was more than 10 points higher than it was in 2016. The college also had 80.8% of its eligible students vote in 2020, which was 20 points higher than 2016.
“This recognition is largely possible because several students took an active role in advocating for voter participation before and during the 2020 election and hundreds of students were involved in a social media challenge,” says Allen Lollis, assistant dean of students for residence life and community standards and the dean for the sophomore class. “Our voter engagement plan is an ongoing project as new students arrive on campus each year and they embrace this civic responsibility.”
This was the challenge’s third biennial awards recognition. Wofford has been recognized with NSLVE’s bronze seal twice, in 2017 and 2019.
There are currently 19 states participating in the ALL IN State Voting Challenges, encompassing more than 426 institutions enrolling 4.3 million students. The ALL IN is a national, nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization.
In addition to the NSLVE recognition, Wofford has earned the highest voter registration and the highest voter turnout awards for the athletic challenges awards from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for nonpartisan student voter participation efforts in the 2020 election. That award was recognized during the SoCon Votes Athletic Challenges Awards Ceremony on Nov. 10.