Elon is receiving national attention for its voter registration efforts, ranking in TurboVote’s top 10 colleges or universities in total registrations and percentage of registrations among undergraduates.
Elon University has again been recognized among the nation’s leading institutions for voter registration efforts, according to online voter registration service TurboVote.
Elon Votes!, a nonpartisan organization aiming to help Elon students engage in democracy, gives students access to TurboVote to help them cast their ballots in upcoming elections.
Since Aug. 1, more than 33 percent of the Elon undergraduate student body has registered to vote using TurboVote, a tally that earned the university a #5 ranking in the voter registration service’s final rankings. In all, more than 2,000 Elon students have used TurboVote to register to vote or sign up for election reminders, earning Elon a #9 ranking.
“The Boldly Elon strategic plan involves advancing a national model for civic engagement,” said Bob Frigo, associate director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, which houses Elon Votes! “This recognition of our campus voter engagement efforts this fall is a step in that direction.”
The final TurboVote rankings for 2020 are as follows:
TurboVote percentage of undergraduate enrollment signed up, August 1 – November 2, 2020:
- University of Chicago – 53.46%
- Loyola Marymount University – 34.589%
- Harvard University – 34.254%
- Washington University in St Louis – 34.16%
- Elon University – 33.280%
- Trinity University – 30.332%
- Princeton University – 29.106%
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology – 29.106%
- Rice University – 23.48%
- Warren Wilson College – 23.33%
TurboVote total signups, August 1 – November 2, 2020:
- Stanford University – 3,526
- University of Chicago – 3,503
- Washington University in St Louis – 2,598
- University of Delaware – 2,500
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor – 2,401
- Loyola Marymount University – 2,296
- Harvard University – 2,295 – 2,057
- University of Florida – 2,119
- Elon University – 2,089
- University of Pittsburgh – 1,652
Elon Votes! has earned the university national recognition several times this semester because of its efforts to register students to vote via TurboVote. The organization has helped the campus more than double its registration total since September.
As the Nov. 3 election approaches, Frigo hopes to see Elon Votes! and the rest of the student body keep up the momentum ahead of Election Day 2020.
“Monumental things can happen when students, faculty and staff work collaboratively to address the common good,” Frigo said. “The nonpartisan efforts of the Elon Votes! team and the Elon Political Engagement Work Group to engage students in democracy and to encourage them to be active participants in civic life is a common good that transcends partisan boundaries.”
For more information about Election Day, visit the Elon Votes! website or visit the Kernodle Center for Civic Life in the Moseley Center for assistance.