Tufts University and Campus Compact today announced the winners of the 2008 Campus Votes Challenge, which sought to encourage voting at colleges and universities nationwide during the 2008 Presidential election. In addition to seven winning institutions, another 15 campuses were given Honorable Mention awards, including SUNY Fredonia.
Campuses recognized for outstanding student voting turnout were: Lesley University and Manchester College for institutions with under 2000 students, Hamline University and Smith College for intuitions between 2000 and 5000 students, and Clemson University, Kennesaw State University, and Tufts University for institutions with more than 5000 students.
The seven institutions named as winners in the challenge demonstrated a voter turnout over 70 percent on their campuses – significantly higher than the 59.7 percent, which was the 2008 national average for voter turnout among all 18-24 year old college students.
Voting rates were calculated with assistance from students at participating institutions, who gave permission to have their votes verified against the public voter record by an independent, third party organization. These public records only indicate whether or not an individual voted and do not include how a person voted.
The Campus Votes Challenge recognizes the following institutions for showing the value they place on youth voting by participating in the Challenge: Butler Community College; Central Piedmont Community College; Chester College of New England; Drexel University; Fitchburg State College; Flathead Valley Community College; Hamilton College; Indiana State University; Indiana University, Northwest; Lehman College; Muhlenberg College; Ohio Northern University; Purdue University, North Central; Springfield College; SUNY Cortland; University of New Haven; University of North Texas; University of Rhode Island; West Chester University; Winona State University.
“It is widely recognized that young people influenced the 2008 election by voting in larger numbers," said Campus Compact President Maureen Curley. “Campus Compact and hundreds of colleges and universities across the country actively encouraged students to vote. 2008 marked a heartening upsurge in the civic education mission of higher education.”
