The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) has been named a Voter Friendly Campus for the 2023-2024 academic year by the Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. This is the second time that UIS has earned this designation.
The initiative recognizes institutions that have planned and implemented practices that encourage their students to register and vote in upcoming elections. UIS is one of 258 campuses in 38 states to be named to the list. In order to earn the designation, UIS created a campus action plan to identify ways to increase voter education, voter registration, and voter turnout on campus.
The mission of the 2023 Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster college and university efforts to help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process – every year, not just during years featuring federal elections.
The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural and urban campuses, collectively serving over 3.5 million students.
UIS is committed to continuing to engage students in the democratic process through 2023, 2024, and beyond. “UIS has made a strong statement about our civic mission to prepare students to be engaged participants in our democracy,” said Jill Hawkins-Wright, director of the UIS Volunteer & Civic Engagement Center.
Overall, UIS’ efforts to increase democratic engagement on campus have been recognized for the second time, emphasizing the university’s commitment to ensuring that its students are prepared to be informed and active participants in the political process