March 9, 2021
Binghamton University is one of over 231 campuses in 37 states and the District of Columbia designated as a “Voter Friendly Campus.” The initiative, led by national nonpartisan organizations Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, held participating institutions accountable for planning and implementing practices that encourage their students to register and vote in 2020 elections and in the coming years.
The mission of the Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. Binghamton University was evaluated based on a campus plan for and subsequent report on student voter registration, education and turnout in 2020, which were compiled and submitted by the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). The designation is valid through Dec. 2022.
As part of the designation effort, Binghamton University remained committed to serving student voters. Despite the pandemic-related challenges that 2020 brought, stakeholders — including students, staff, faculty and community partners — adapted quickly and shifted many services to virtual platforms, while maintaining a safe in-person presence. By ramping up digital resources, the CCE website received over 2,800 clicks on voter registration and absentee ballot request links, and students and staff reached 3,700 students in 70 courses through online class presentations. In order to keep students and faculty safe, partners across campus responded to the unique needs of student voters by moving the campus polling place to the Events Center and retrieving absentee ballots for students in isolation and quarantine housing.
Binghamton University has made a strong statement about the civic mission of higher education to prepare students to be engaged participants in our democracy and is excited to continue engaging students through 2021, 2022 and beyond.
Alison Handy Twang, associate director of the CCE and an Andrew Goodman Foundation Vote Everywhere Campus Champion, is especially proud to receive this designation for the campus’s efforts during a challenging 2020 election season. “This success is only possible through the commitment and hard work of student leaders, student organizations, faculty, campus offices and our community partners,” she said.
