UAlbany Designated as Voter Friendly Campus

More Than 3,000 Students Have Registered Through TurboVote Since Last Year

UAlbany was one of the only five SUNY schools to receive the "Voter Friendly Campus" designation. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 9, 2019) — Following last year’s midterm election where thousands of students registered to vote, the University at Albany has been designated a “Voter Friendly Campus” by the national non-partisan organizations Campus Vote Project and NASPA- Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

The mission of the Voter Friendly Campus designation is to encourage students to participate in the political process. Out of the 123 schools selected, UAlbany was one of the only five SUNY schools to receive the designation, which is valid through December of 2020.

The UAlbany Votes team, a collaboration between various offices, student leaders and organizations on campus, including the Center for Leadership and Service, led the University’s second annual voter registration last fall. More than 3,000 students registered through TurboVote, an online platform that allows you to register online, change your address, request an absentee ballot and receive reminders about upcoming elections.

The registration drive encouraged a friendly competition on campus, challenging departments, residence halls and student organizations to get the most voters registered through TurboVote. In addition, the UAlbany Votes team hosted civic engagement presentations in classrooms and other group settings covering the importance of voting and issues of the midterm elections.

“UAlbany is more than a place of work or place of learning. It’s a place of growth. I’ve grown here as a student as well as a professional and it feels great to work with talented students, faculty, staff and community partners to aid in the civic growth of our campus community,” said Cheryl Simmons of the Center for Student Leadership and Service.

“This work is part of no one’s job description or coursework. It is driven from a need to be more civically engaged. To be recognized nationally for our efforts validates the work that we have already done and pushes us to continue to create more of an impact,” she added.

Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, the UAlbany Votes team is recruiting campus ambassadors to help answer students’ registration questions and educate them about the voting process. Ambassador training began in April and runs through the summer. The University also will continue to table, advertise and promote voter registration on campus and with prospective students.

Members of the campus community with questions about voter registration can email the Center for Leadership and Service at [email protected] or call (518) 442-5446.

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds