UMSL students stop by a National Voter Registration Day table sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of Missouri on Sept. 19, 2023. ASUM members helped students register to vote and answered questions about the process. In 2024, the Political Science Academy and Delta Sigma Theta operated a similar table. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

The University of Missouri–St. Louis has earned recognition as a “Voter Friendly Campus” for the fifth time in recent years. The designation comes from the Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

The initiative recognizes higher education institutions that have planned and implemented nonpartisan practices that encouraged their students to register and vote in the 2024 elections and in the coming years.

UMSL joined 272 campuses in 39 states and the District of Columbia on the 2025-26 list.

“We are pleased to designate such a wide range of institutions as Voter Friendly Campuses in this cycle,” said NASPA President Amelia Parnell. “NASPA has partnered with the Fair Elections Center on this work for nearly a decade. We look forward to continuing to elevate and support the valuable work of the students, administrators and faculty whose tireless efforts are an essential part of our democracy.”

Patricia Zahn, UMSL’s director of community engagement and outreach, explained that the university has been very intentional about its civic engagement initiatives, and because of that, they continue to grow.

“I feel like we just keep getting better each time,” Zahn said. “We challenge ourselves to do a little bit more each year. I think having our polling place on campus is really a game changer. It elevates our civic engagement work because it makes it convenient for people to vote, but also makes them pay attention.”

With the support of the Chancellor’s Office and Events Services, Zahn and members of the UMSL Civic Engagement Coalition collaborated with the St. Louis County Board of Elections to make the Millennium Student Center a polling place for St. Louis County voters in 2022, and it has continued to serve as a polling place in subsequent elections.

St. Louis County allows registered voters to cast ballots at any polling location in the county, and the university has seized the opportunity to bring UMSL students, staff and faculty as well as community members to campus to fulfill their civic duty. These efforts were noticeable during the November 2024 general election when more than 12,000 voters cast their ballots at the MSC.

UMSL alumni Eric Fey and Rick Stream also played integral roles in making this possible. Fey and Stream oversee the St. Louis County Board of Elections as the Democratic director of elections and the Republican director of elections, respectively. For years, they’ve remained engaged with the university and have worked to show UMSL students how the democratic process works.

“We’ve got a great partnership with them,” Zahn said. “They are so helpful. They also give tours of the election board office and how it functions. Several of our students, faculty and staff have participated. It’s so amazing to see all the behind-the-scenes activities and how much detail is put into our elections process.”

UMSL focuses on more than individual elections or election cycles, though.

“Our Civic Engagement Coalition meets monthly, and I think that’s an important component of our success, too,” Zahn said. “We’re talking about what’s coming up, where are the gaps, what’s missing, and then planning activities together to make sure that we are reaching different parts of our campus community.”

Zahn and Professor David Kimball, chair of the Department of Political Science and a member of the Civic Engagement Coalition, highlighted the numerous ways members of the UMSL community promote civic engagement in a report submitted to the Campus Vote Project.

These endeavors include year-round voter education and voter registration activities and events. During the Fall Involvement Jamboree on Aug. 28., two student organizations – the Political Science Academy and Associated Students of the University of Missouri – hosted tables with voter registration information. The Political Science Academy also worked with Delta Sigma Theta to help students register to vote for National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 17.

As part of the university’s annual Constitution Day in September, the Political Science Academy co-sponsored a virtual discussion with Department of Communication faculty members Lara Zwarun and Alan Heisel titled “Speaking Freely: The Fourth Amendment.” With support from the Civic Engagement Coalition, UMSL also hosted a candidate forum focused on the August primary ballot and a presidential debate watch party. Additionally, Sydney Young, a member of the Political Science Academy and student member of the coalition, made presentations about civic engagement and voting as part of the First-Year Experience for new students.

Zahn added that the MSC will once again be a polling place for the upcoming April 8 general municipal elections in St. Louis County. From March 31 until April 4, the site will be open for early voting from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Early voting will also be available on April 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and April 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On election day, the polling place will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.

“This Voter Friendly Campus award, it really is focused on how we support our students and their civic engagement, and we’re improving those efforts,” Zahn said. “But also, I think some significance of the polling place is that it’s for the campus community and the broader community, because we recognize that we’re part of a bigger community. I think that’s the important piece. We want people to recognize that the UMSL campus is a part of the community, and we want people to be engaged as part of that.”