Columbia College Chicago is one of 394 colleges and universities recognized for its efforts to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement in the 2022 election.

Columbia College Chicago was recently recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as a 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes colleges and universities for making intentional efforts to increase student voter participation. Columbia joins a group of 394 colleges and universities recognized by ALL IN for completing these four actions:

• Participate in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
• Shared 2020 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN
• Developed and submitted a 2022 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN
• Have a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.

“Columbia is proud of its student voting registration efforts and the many Columbia students who believe in the power of civic engagement,” says Senior Vice President and Provost Marcella David at Columbia. "I am teaching a Chicago Experience class and I have seen the Voting Genius team in action. They are wonderful!"

“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,” says 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.”

Professor of Journalism Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin started Columbia Votes! at the college in 2019 to help students learn about the electoral process, assist them with registering, and increase student voting. The initiative has been widely embraced by the administration, faculty, staff, and students at Columbia College Chicago, and has grown from a volunteer effort to a college- and grant-funded program that is able to hire and train “voter registration geniuses” (VRGs) who help educate and motivate their peers about the power and importance of the youth vote, and then assist them in registering to vote and even requesting vote-by-mail ballots. In 2020, 72 percent of Columbia College Chicago students voted in the general election, compared to 66 percent of students at all colleges. 

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.

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