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SUNY Adirondack recognized for encouraging democracy

aerial view of Queensbury campus

ALL IN awards college for voter registration in 2022 midterm elections

  • Campus Life

 

QUEENSBURY, New York (Sept. 10, 2024) — SUNY Adirondack was recognized by ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge today for its nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that fostered high levels of student voter engagement in the 2022 midterm elections.

SUNY Adirondack received the Bronze and Presidential Commitment awards, reflecting its commitment to ensuring nonpartisan democratic engagement is a defining feature of campus life.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. SUNY Adirondack was recognized alongside more than 500 campuses using data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) out of Tufts University, which found that colleges and universities had the second-highest voter turnout among students in a midterm election since NSLVE began measuring this data.

“SUNY Adirondack's commitment to civic engagement is exemplified by our recent recognition with the ALL IN Democracy Challenge Midterm Bronze Award," said Wendy Johnston, associate professor of Political Science and chair of the Social Science division at SUNY Adirondack. "This honor reflects our dedication to fostering an informed and active student body, encouraging participation in the democratic process, and supporting a campus culture of civic responsibility and engagement."

SUNY Adirondack was awarded an Excellence in Student Voter Engagement Bronze Award for two-year colleges, with a voting rate of 20 to 29 percent, and a Presidential Commitment Signatory for receiving more than 700 signatures.

Past on-campus activities include annual Constitution Day speakers; partnering with American Association of University Women and League of Women Voters for voter registration drives annually; presidential debate viewing events; and a 2016 Rock the Vote event.

“The ALL IN Awards were created to celebrate nonpartisan democratic engagement and the outstanding campus voter registration and turnout rates achieved by our ALL IN campuses. Ahead of the 2024 elections, ALL IN campuses are ready to build on the momentum from 2022 to ensure their communities are ready to make an even bigger impact this fall,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “ALL IN is proud to celebrate and honor top-performing campuses, like SUNY Adirondack, who demonstrate that nonpartisan student voter engagement is possible and effective.”

More than 1,060 institutions enrolling more than 10 million students participate in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, which supports colleges and universities in achieving excellence in nonpartisan student voter engagement.

About 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. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives to change civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs on college campuses, making voter participation a defining feature of campus life.

ALL IN, in collaboration with more than 1,050 higher education institutions, seeks to make participation in local, state, and federal elections a social norm; substantially increase the number of college students who are democratically engaged on an ongoing basis, during and between elections, and not just at the polls, and; make educating for democratic engagement on college campuses an accepted and expected part of the culture and curriculum so that students graduate with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values needed to be an informed and active citizen.

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