November 18, 2021
Transform Mid-Atlantic (TMA) is proud to celebrate its member institutions that were recently recognized at the third biennial ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge awards ceremony – held on Tuesday, November 9th – for their outstanding civic action plans and student voter registration efforts during the 2020 presidential election.
The 2020 presidential election engaged the largest and most diverse group of college students in U.S. history. For the first time this year, ALL IN recognized winners of their State Campus Voting Challenges, competitions between higher education institutions in a particular state to increase nonpartisan student voter participation and engagement. Departments of State, Secretaries of State, and nonprofit partners co-facilitate the voting challenges in collaboration with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge at Civic Nation.
There are currently 19 states participating in the ALL IN State Voting Challenges, encompassing more than 426 institutions enrolling 4.3 million students. TMA member institutions in Maryland and Washington, D.C. received the following state-based awards at the ceremony:
Maryland State Challenge Awardees
Washington, D.C. Challenge Awardees
Highest Voter Registration Award:
Georgetown University
Most Improved Voter Turnout Award (from 2016 to 2020 presidential elections):
Georgetown University
Highest Voter Turnout Award:
Georgetown University
Best Campus Democratic Engagement Action Plan Award:
George Washington University
“We are incredibly proud of the work that our member institutions are doing to increase student voting and institutionalize civic and community engagement on their campuses and in their communities,” said Madeline Yates, TMA Executive Director. “TMA will continue to partner with our institutions’ leaders, faculty, students, and community members to advance voting as a critical form of civic readiness and engagement. We look forward to seeing more of our members in Delaware, DC, and Maryland recognized for their efforts in future election cycles.”
Twenty-three institutions in Delaware, Maryland, and DC participated in the 2020 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. Fifteen campuses were awarded seals of excellence in student voter engagement based on their respective student voter turnout percentages.
The 2020 election cycle saw unprecedented voter registration and turnout among college students according to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), a research study of the Institute for Democracy in Higher Education (IDHE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. NSLVE reported that 66 percent of college students voted in the 2020 elections, a 14 point increase from 2016.
Join the 2022 ALL IN Challenge!
TMA member institutions that have not yet submitted their past NSLVE data to ALL IN can do so to receive retroactive seals for the 2016, 2018, and now 2020 elections, by emailing their NSLVE reports to reports {at} civicnation(.)org.
“The rise in voter participation and engagement for college students in last year’s presidential election was record-setting and will undoubtedly be tied to the efforts of the dedicated students, faculty, administrators, and partner organizations that are part of the ALL IN Challenge network,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “Partners in our nonpartisan state voting challenges worked collaboratively and diligently to ensure that participating colleges and universities had the best information and tools with which to ensure that college students – many of whom are first-time voters – had the information and access necessary to register and cast informed ballots.”
Learn more and see a full list of winning campuses here.
About the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge:
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) is a national, nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization. ALL IN strives for a more inclusive democracy—one in which all voices are heard. We believe that higher education plays a role in graduating students into voters and in closing electoral participation gaps that persist by race and age. Through an intentionally designed program—which provides structure, support, and recognition—ALL IN strengthens college and university efforts to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation. Ensuring that students are registered to vote and participate in all elections is a key component of our work.