UMSL was recently recognized for its efforts to foster high student voter participation in the 2022 midterm elections. The university will once again serve as a polling place for St. Louis County voters in the November 2024 elections. (Photo by August Jennewein)

Earlier this week, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge recognized universities across the country for nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that fostered high levels of student voter participation in the 2022 midterm elections. The University of Missouri–St. Louis received a Gold Seal, reflecting its commitment to ensuring that 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. UMSL was recognized alongside more than 500 campuses using data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement 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. The full list of campus award winners can be viewed here.

According to Patricia Zahn, UMSL’s director of community outreach and engagement and legislative liaison, UMSL students had a voting rate of 10% above the national average and maintained a high voter registration rate of 85% during the 2022 midterm election. Zahn said UMSL’s high voter engagement is a result of a cross-campus collaboration between UMSL’s Civic Engagement Coalition and others at the university, including Department of Political Science faculty members David Kimball and Anita Manion, who have been instrumental in the university’s voter registration efforts.

“I am so impressed with the collaborative work that is being done on our campus around civic engagement and could not be prouder to help lead these efforts at UMSL in partnership with our fantastic student organization representatives, and faculty and staff colleagues from across the campus,” Zahn said.

While this recent recognition highlighted UMSL’s voter engagement in 2022, the university’s Civic Engagement Coalition has been hard at work planning for voter registration, education and “get out the vote” activities for the upcoming November 2024 elections.

“We also received the 2024 Highly Established Action Plan Seal of recognition from ALL IN for our outline of how we plan to ‘increase nonpartisan democratic engagement by promoting civic learning, political engagement, and college student voter participation’ in 2024,” Zahn said. “We are also thrilled that UMSL is again serving as a polling location for the St. Louis County Board of Elections and that any registered voter in the County will be able to cast a ballot at UMSL.”

All residents of St. Louis County who are registered voters are able to cast their votes on the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus in both the primary and general elections in 2024. The UMSL Millennium Student Center at 117 Arnold Grohman Drive will serve as a polling place for St. Louis County voters in one of the third-floor Century Rooms. UMSL will also serve as a satellite site for returning absentee ballots or casting absentee ballots in person. More information is available here.