The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been recognized for its efforts to encourage students to register and vote in the 2020 elections and in the coming years.
Designated a 2021-2022 "Voter Friendly Campus," UW-Stevens Point is among more than 231 campuses in 37 states and the District of Columbia to be recognized. The initiative is led by two national bipartisan organizations, the Fair Elections Center's Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.
The designation strengthens efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating the political process. UW-Stevens Point was evaluated based on its campus plan to register, educate and get student voter turnout for the 2020 elections as well as for voter engagement efforts on campus, all in the midst of a global pandemic.
"This shows our campus' commitment to civil engagement and getting out the vote," said Aaron Larson, a senior history and broadfield social science major from Franklin, Wis. He served as a Get Out the Vote intern for the Student Government Association (SGA) along with Maverick DeLain.
In addition to holding voter registration drives, distributing information and offering educational events, SGA's 2020 Get Out the Vote efforts included:
- Creating a website dedicated to student voting resources with Information Technology
- Joining a Milwaukee Bucks youth vote initiative in the video "Vote 101: College Students Make Their Voice Heard" featuring DeLain
- Partnering with the city clerk to add an absentee ballot box on campus and with the PointCard Office to provide free voter I.D. cards to students
- Providing a voter shuttle bus with the College of Natural Resources and answering student voter questions through email and an online form on Nov. 3
"This was a collaborative effort to build lasting support," Larson said. "We worked with many units on campus to make sure that the work lasts past Nov. 3. Our goal is to encourage students to connect to the community at large, to be involved in local, state and national elections and the democratic process."
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