Give Them Ballots
Posted by Liberal Education Magazine on August 25, 2026
Liberal education prepares students for citizenship. Colleges and universities must ensure they can vote.
In February 2026, US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon declared, “American colleges and universities should be focused on teaching, learning, and research—not influencing elections.” Unfortunately, her definition of “influencing” appears expansive and seems to extend to nonpartisan activities such as on-campus voter registration drives designed to encourage civic engagement among students.
The statement came in a press release announcing a Department of Education investigation into the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE). NSLVE is a nonpartisan research initiative that tracks student voter participation; colleges and universities use its data to develop effective engagement strategies. The investigation extends to NSLVE’s sponsor, Tufts University, and the National Student Clearinghouse, which provides authoritative enrollment data for NSLVE’s analysis of student civic participation. The department has also threatened to revoke funding for the thousand-plus institutions participating in NSLVE.
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