Cedar Crest College has been named a Voter Friendly Campus by Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The College is one of 258 campuses in 38 states and the District of Columbia to have received this recognition. The initiative recognizes institutions that have planned and implemented practices that encourage their students to register and vote in the 2022 elections and in coming years.
The mission of the 2023 Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster colleges and universities’ efforts to help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process – every year, not just during years featuring federal elections. Cedar Crest College was evaluated based on a written plan for how we planned to register, educate, and turnout student voters in 2022, how we facilitated voter engagement efforts on our campus, and a final analysis of our efforts.
“At the center of our civic engagement efforts are individuals working together to leverage the ideas, strengths, and talents of a community to work towards a common good,” says Olivia Miller, director of student engagement at Cedar Crest.
“This work is more than just political participation during election years; civic engagement encompasses education, volunteer work, advocacy, and representation. Participating in the Voter Friendly Campus initiative was a way to showcase Cedar Crest College’s commitment to educating the next generation of leaders.”
As part of our effort to be designated a Voter Friendly Campus, Cedar Crest implemented a number of non-partisan initiatives, such as a voter registration and election information Canvas module as well as events, including Voter Registration Day tables, candidate information sessions, and a voter van to take students to the polls.
The College also fully funded four students to participate in the Pennsylvania Center for Women & Politics’ NEW Leadership public policy institute, which is designed to educate and empower young women for future political participation and leadership.
Cedar Crest has made a strong statement about our civic mission to prepare students to be engaged participants in our democracy and is eager to continue engaging students through 2023, 2024, and beyond.
The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural, and urban campuses, collectively serving over 3.5 million students. Notably, the list of designated institutions includes 49 Minority Serving Institutions and 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as 41 Community Colleges.
NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Our work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy, and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and 8 U.S. territories.
Fair Elections Center is a national, nonpartisan voting rights and legal support organization that works to eliminate barriers to voting and improve election administration across the United States. Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project works with universities, community colleges, faculty, students and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting and helps campuses institutionalize reforms that empower students with the information they need to register and vote