Virginia Tech has launched a voter registration portal in an attempt to make it easier for students to register to vote. The portal was created by VT Engage as a partnership with ALL IN To Vote.
Why It Matters
This portal is part of VT Engage’s mission “to facilitate leadership, service learning, and civic engagement experiences that advance community priorities, contribute to student development, and embody Ut Prosim (That I May Serve.)”
VT Engage has recently put an increased focus on the civic engagement aspect of their goals. In 2023, they hired Billy McKeon to serve as their Civic Engagement Coordinator. In this role, McKeon supports the Civic Democracy Leadership Initiative and Hokies Vote Caucus.
Virginia Tech is a recognized as a Voter Friendly Campus. This means that they have an established plan to engage their students in the election process.
The Big Picture
ALL IN was created in 2016 to and has helped solve a national concern of young Americans not participating in elections.
ALL IN is a non-partisan organization that was built around the idea that “higher education should play a role in developing an active and informed citizenry by educating students, motivating them to engage in American democracy, and instilling the value of lifelong participation.” ALL IN “inspires, supports, and celebrates colleges and universities working to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation.”
Flashback
Virginia Tech students have a history of participating in elections. According to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), Virginia Tech had 73% of eligible voters vote on Election Day and 90.7% of all students registered to vote in the 2020 Election.
This involvement in the 2020 election earned Virginia Tech recognition as a Gold Campus for excellence in student voter engagement by the All In Campus Democracy Challenge.
Zoom Out
Outside of Virginia Tech, voting participation hasn’t been as high. According to the NSLVE, Radford University had 64.7% of eligible students vote in the 2020 election and 87.5% of their eligible students registered. Nationally, 66% of eligible students voted on Election Day.
ALL IN is currently involved with 1,072 institutions across all 50 states.
What We’re Watching
It is still unknown exactly how election participation will trend at Virginia Tech, in the region, and nationally. With this being ALL IN’s third presidential election, there are still some unknowns in terms of the impact they will have on the young voter turnout.
For now, both in-state and out-of-state students can access information on how to vote in the November 5th election through the portal online.
> THE NEWS FEED < 