Election 2020 at Pace University
The 2020 Election season was one to go down in history. With the country facing COVID-19 challenges, we were also confronted with new obstacles leading to the polls. However, this only served as a motivating factor for the student leaders at the Center for Community Action and Research (CCAR) to work even harder to get the Pace community involved in the political process.
As a result of these efforts put in by CCAR, their on- and off-campus partners, and the initiative taken by students, Pace University was able to achieve an exciting increase in voter turnout by 17.5 points since 2016. With 66.2% eligible Pace students voting in 2020, this put us above
the national average among other colleges/universities, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE). Because of the community’s team effort, Pace earned a Silver Seal by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge which is meant to honor campuses with a voter turnout rate between 60 and 70 percent.
The increase in voter turnout is a result of Pace’s dedication to engaging student voters all year, every year. The Center for Community Action and Research organizes and trains student leaders and campus partners to mobilize student voters through course presentations, weekly tabling, social media outreach, and non-partisan educational programming. During the 2020-2021 school year, over 3,000 Pace students engaged with CCAR’s civic engagement programming.
Data provided by the Institute for Democracy in Higher Education (IDHE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University shows that Pace University is consistently increasing youth voter turnout. We are dedicated to continuing the spread of voter education and encouraging various communities on campus to engage with the political process.
About the 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. ALL IN strives for a more inclusive democracy—one in which all voices are heard. We believe that higher education plays a role in graduating students into voters and in closing electoral participation gaps that persist by race and age. Through an intentionally designed program—which provides structure, support, and recognition—ALL IN strengthens college and university efforts to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation. Ensuring that students are registered to vote and participate in all elections is a key component of our work. Learn more and see a full list of winning campuses at https://allinchallenge.org/awards-ceremony.
