UMass Dartmouth students were part of a dramatic rise in voting participation during the 2020 Presidential Election, according to a recent report by the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE).

For UMass Dartmouth students, increases were seen across all metrics. During the 2020 election, 65% of eligible students voted, up 14% from 2016. The university also saw a large increase in students registering to vote. In 2016, 78% of students were registered to vote – a number that grew to 85% in 2020.

Groups across campus worked to improve the university’s student voter turnout, including “UMassD Votes 2020.” This collaboration of students, faculty, staff, and members of the Town of Dartmouth community aimed to increase student voting rates in the 2020 general election and details ways to create a sustainable culture of voting on the UMass Dartmouth campus.

The group, with help from the Leduc Center for Civic Engagement, adopted TurboVote to create an easy portal for students to find voting information. UMass Dartmouth also participated in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and Ask Every Student Campaign to boost voting awareness.