Voter turnout among Washington University in St. Louis students leaped to 41.8% in the 2018 midterm elections, more than double the 2014 midterm voting rate of 15.9%, according to a national study of campus voting rates by Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy & Higher Education. The study is based on the voting records of more than 10 million students at more than 1,000 colleges and universities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
This data reflects the Gephardt Institute’s approach to voter engagement as a collaborative process that engages the full campus community. The university went from trailing the national average to surpassing it because of its dual commitment to both registration and turnout.
“We didn’t stop at registering students,” said Stephanie Kurtzman, the Peter G. Sortino Director of the Gephardt Institute. “We also put a lot of energy into making sure voters were informed, educated, and prepared for Election Day. That meant making sure voters knew the location of their polling place, that they understood the absentee voting procedures and deadlines in their home state, and that they had a plan for voting on Election Day.”
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