Last week, the 14 community colleges who are part of Campus Compact’s Engage the Election Project registered over 1,600 new voters as part of National Voter Registration Day.

Engage the Election is a direct response to the 2018 midterm elections and has the goal of creating wide-reaching electoral engagement opportunities for community college students, many of whom are first-generation students, low-income, or students of color. These 14 community colleges are serving as case studies for the project and received mini-grants so they could join thousands of volunteers, colleges, universities, and organizations all across the country to host registration drives on September 25 as part of National Voter Registration Day.

Here’s how they did:

• Allegany College of Maryland (MD)
  40 new voters
• College of the Canyons (CA)
  500 new voters
• Delta College (MI)
  266 new voters
• Johnson County Community College (KS)
  28 new voters
• CUNY Kingsborough Community College (NY)
  84 new voters
• Kirkwood Community College (IA)
  50 on new voters
• Mesa Community College (AZ)
  20 new voters
• Monroe Community College (NY)
  33 new voters
• Piedmont Virginia Community College (VA)
  120 new voters
• Raritan Valley Community College (NJ)
  33 new voters and 180 pledges to vote
• Tarrant County College- Southeast Campus (TX)
  423 new voters
• Wilbur Wright College (IL)
  47 new voters

Grand total: 1,644 new voters and counting!

This work is immensely impactful and represents just part of the good work done by community colleges and Campus Compact members toward registering new voters on National Voter Registration day and beyond in advance or registration deadlines.

Engage the Election: Virtual Dialogue Series

The Engage the Election project continues with a series of virtual dialogues on the electoral power of Community Colleges. This three-part series will be hosted by Verdis L. Robinson, Campus Compact’s Director of Community College Engagement and feature experienced community college practitioners who will share some best practices they’ve established on their campuses. This will be followed by an open dialogue concerning the challenges and opportunities unique to community colleges regarding voter registration, education, and turnout. Register online at events.compact.org/engage-the-election-dialogue.

• Thursday, October 4, 1 P.M. – 2 P.M. Eastern
  The Power of Community Colleges in Voter Registration
• Thursday, October 11, 1 P.M. – 2 P.M. Eastern
  The Power of Community Colleges in Voter Education
• Thursday, October 18, 1 P.M. – 2 P.M. Eastern
  The Power of Community Colleges in Voter Turnout