HENRY GAMBLE, Staff Writer—
Denison was recently recognized by the All-In Campus Democracy Challenge as having the highest voter registration rate out of colleges across the nation, with upwards of 99.5% of students being registered to vote.
According to allinchallenge.org, the mission statement of the organization is “to foster civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs at colleges and universities, making them a defining feature of campus life”
One such program at Denison is DU Votes, a student-led organization founded after the 2018 midterm elections. Tait Ferguson ’23 is one of the two co-coordinators on staff, and he explained that DU votes “primarily focuses on educating students on their right to vote and what that right means, and [ensuring] that they’re able to make it to the ballot box.”
The organization accomplishes this through a variety of methods, most importantly what Ferguson calls “relational organizing.”
The 2020 election was the first time this process was implemented, with the goal that students would be both registered and proactive about getting to the poles or sending in their vote via mail.
“We hope that every student on this campus will know at least one person that is very educated on how to register to vote, and that person will hold them accountable.”
The success of DU votes isn’t confined to only registering students to vote, but was also shown in voter turnout.
According to Denison’s website, the university was also “recognized as a Platinum Seal awardee, for an 80%–89% voter participation in the 2020 Presidential Election.”
Dana Pursely, the director of CLIC, which works directly with DU Votes, explains that this is an increase of 14.9% from the 2016 presidential election.
Even with such large achievements, DU Votes and CLIC have larger ambitions moving forwards.
Ferguson explained that “one of the goals moving forwards is re-centering our mission onto civic education first. If we focus on creating a campus community that is educated on candidates, educated on issues and that is engaged in civic dialogue, they will inherently exercise their right to vote.”
Education on candidates and issues looking forward will also focus on smaller, local elections.
Director Pursley emphasizes this sentiment, saying “I think it’s important to help students realize the voice and impact they have in state and local elections.”
To accomplish these goals, DU Votes and CLIC will work together to both partner with campus organizations and bring a variety of candidates to campus to speak on their work and the importance of civic engagement.