Students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities voted at a higher rate in 2018 than at any other large, public, four-year institution in the country, according to a nationwide collegiate civics and engagement group.
Due to that 58.7 percent voting rate, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge named the University of Minnesota as “Best in Class” for large public universities during a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The Big Ten also recognized the University of Minnesota for its conference-leading voting rate on the same day.
“One of our top priorities is to empower students to be engaged at every level of government and to make our voices heard. The most direct way to do that is to get students to vote,” says senior Jude Goossens, director of government and legislative affairs at the Minnesota Student Association on the Twin Cities campus.
“We are grateful to have had many partners in this collaborative work over the years, from administrators to student activists. We are exceptionally proud to be part of a community that shows up.”
Every University of Minnesota system campus saw voter turnout above the nationwide average of 39.1 percent in 2018. Turnout was 51.4 percent at the University of Minnesota Morris, 48.2 percent at the University of Minnesota Duluth and 44.3 percent at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The University of Minnesota Rochester is combined with the Twin Cities campus under this metric.
Systemwide, the University of Minnesota’s voting rate in 2018 was 56.1 percent.
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