TLU is one of just 231 campuses in 37 states and the District of Columbia designated as a 2021-2022 “Voter Friendly Campus.” This is the second time TLU has received this distinction. Led by national nonpartisan organizations Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, the program holds participating institutions accountable for planning and implementing practices that encouraged their students to register and vote in the 2020 elections and in the coming years.
The mission of the Voter Friendly Campus (VFC) designation is to bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. Our campus was evaluated based on a campus plan about how we would register, educate, and turnout student voters in 2020, how we facilitated voter engagement efforts on our campus, and a final analysis of our efforts- all in the face of the upheaval caused by a global pandemic. The designation is valid through December 2022.
TLU Center For Servant Leadership Director Morgan Klaser is especially proud to receive this distinction for a second time given the way she and her student volunteers had to adjust their tactics around the pandemic.
“The application process required us to intentionally plan our voter engagement strategies, pivot them due to COVID-19, and report their success or any challenges we faced,” she said. “We are excited to continue our voter engagement work through partnership with the VFC program and to continue to provide access to voter registration and education to our campus community.”
Campus Vote Project says all schools with the designation are making a strong statement about the civic mission of higher education to prepare students to be engaged participants in democracy.
The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural, and urban campuses. Notably, the list of designated colleges includes many Minority Serving Institutions like TLU—a Hispanic Serving Institution designated by the U.S. Department of Education—and the program ultimately serves more than 3.5 million students.
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NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Our work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy, and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and 8 U.S. territories.
Fair Elections Center is a national, nonpartisan voting rights and legal support organization that works to eliminate barriers to voting and improve election administration across the United States. Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project works with universities, community colleges, faculty, students, and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting and helps campuses institutionalize reforms that empower students with the information they need to register and vote.