Report: Election Imperatives: Ten Recommendations to Increase College Student Voting

Posted by Tufts University on August 20, 2018

Election Imperatives: Ten Recommendations to Increase College Student Voting and Improve Political Learning and Engagement in Democracy

Drawing from our research on college student voting and the campus climates of highly politically engaged institutions, this report offers ten recommendations to increase student voting and to improve campus conditions for political learning, discourse, and agency during the election season and beyond. The 2014 midterm election data from our National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) is a wake-up call to U.S. colleges and universities. Although 62% of college students registered to vote in the 2014 midterms, turnout was far lower, as low as 12% for students ages 18–21. (Explore 2014 data here.)

We view increasing voting and civic learning/participation in democracy as related and symbiotic goals. An election offers the proverbial “teachable moment” for reinforcing or introducing important principles and practices of shared responsibility, inclusion and equity, respect for dissenting viewpoints, skilled controversial issue discussions, student voice and agency, transparency and collaborative decision-making, and standards of evidence and truth. Political learning and engagement should be pervasive, and it should happen year-round, and every year, which is why we refer to this work as “Politics 365.”

Read more and download the report:
https://idhe.tufts.edu/electionimperatives