PACE Report Shows SU Student Voting More Than Doubled in 2018

SALISBURY, MD---Student voting at Salisbury University increased to 30 percent in 2018, more than doubling the number who voted in the 2014 election, according to a recent report from SU’s Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement.

The full report is available at the PACE website.

The report was part of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, or NSLVE, conducted by the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. The study showed that, nationwide, voting rates at participating colleges doubled on average compared to the previous 2014 midterm.

In 2018, the Average Institutional Voting Rate among campuses in the study was 39.1 percent, nearly 20 percentage points higher than 2014’s average turnout rate of 19.7 percent. Turnout increases were widespread, with virtually all campuses seeing an increase over 2014.

In fall 2018, PACE and SU’s Political Science Department engaged students both inside and outside the classroom with voter training, student created voter guides and tabling events.

“We are delighted to see that our voting rates increased by 50 percent, and we are looking forward to increasing these further in the upcoming 2020 election through continued voter education and engagement campaigns,” said Dr. Sarah Surak, PACE co-director.

The report was based on the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, the only national study of college-student voting, conducted by IDHE. It is based on the voting records of more than 10 million students at more than 1,000 colleges and universities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (IDHE did not receive information that could individually identify students or how they voted.)

The study provided reports to participating colleges and universities, like SU, which use them to support political learning and civic engagement, as well as to identify and address gaps in political and civic participation.

For more information call 410-677-5054 or visit the PACE website.