College of the Canyons was among 394 colleges and universities across the nation recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for the 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting.

The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes institutions that complete these four actions that are designed to increase student voter participation:

– Participated in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge;

– Shared 2020 National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) Reports of campus voting data with ALL IN;

– Developed and submitted a 2022 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN, and

– Have a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.

“This recognition is a tremendous honor,” said Dr. Patty Robinson, Faculty Director, Civic and Community Engagement at College of the Canyons. “It speaks to the effort and dedication of our students to engage their peers and help them understand that they have an important voice that needs to be heard in our democratic process.”

Recent NSLVE reports, which provide comparisons of voting information specifically related to COC for election years 2014, 2018, and 2020, show overall voter participation and engagement rates (not just registering, but getting students to the polls) has increased. COC’s voting rate increased significantly from 12.2 percent in 2014 to 42.6 percent in 2018 and then to 67.8 percent in 2020.

The increase from voter registration to voter participation clearly correlates to the convenience of voting, Dr. Robinson said. The college secured a Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk drop-off ballot box for early voting at the Valencia campus, followed in late elections by an on-campus Vote Center and most recently with a Mobile Vote Center, all of which were open to students, as well as the surrounding community.

“College student voter turnout has increased since 2016, and this increase has been driven by students. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is excited to expand our ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll to recognize these student voting champions across the country,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “These students registered voters, served on their campus voting coalitions, spearheaded voter education efforts, advocated for campus polling locations and organized other voter engagement efforts to ensure their peers were confident and informed voters. We are excited to see what they continue to accomplish ahead of the 2022 midterms.”

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items, with the support of ALL IN Challenge staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation on their campus. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge currently engages over 9 million students from more than 950 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) is a national nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge strives to change civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs on college campuses, making voter participation a defining feature of campus life.

ALL IN, in collaboration with over 960 higher education institutions, seeks to make participation in local, state, and federal elections a social norm; substantially increase the number of college students who are democratically engaged on an ongoing basis, during and between elections, and not just at the polls, and; make educating for democratic engagement on college campuses an accepted and expected part of the culture and curriculum so that students graduate with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values needed to be an informed and active citizen.