The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) has recognized Raritan Valley Community College for its nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that generated high levels of student voter engagement in the 2022 midterm elections.
RVCC was honored in two areas: the “2022 New Jersey Campus Voting Challenge Highest Voting Rate: Community College” and the “2022 New Jersey Campus Voting Challenge Highest Registration Rate: Community College.”
Raritan Valley Community College also has earned a Bronze Seal from ALL IN based on its 2022 campus voting rate from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) report from Tufts University.
RVCC is the only college in New Jersey and one of only six community colleges nationally receiving the prestigious award.
“RVCC is honored to be recognized for its nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts through the college’s Pray Family Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement,” said RVCC President Michael J. McDonough.
“This award represents our efforts to champion student voter participation, deepen the commitment to social responsibility, and contribute to democratic and electoral engagement,” McDonough said. “We will continue to support students ahead of the 2024 general election by building on past successes and increasing our offerings to engage more students in voting.”
RVCC is one of 93 campuses that has earned this recognition for the current election cycle by the national organization, ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. The Bronze Seal recognizes higher education institutions with strong action plans to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement by promoting civic learning, political engagement, and college student voter participation. The college was honored for its work for the development of a campus Civic Action Plan for the 2024 election cycle.
RVCC’s successes in this area include taking the lead on creating a New Jersey Election Poll Worker Project, a new initiative supported by generous funding through The Pray Family Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement. The RVCC poll worker project is an important response in supporting elections because state and local officials have reported significant shortfalls in the number of available poll workers.
Additionally, the Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State, announced that an institution of higher education may award academic credit to an enrolled student who serves as a poll worker during an election held in the state. In response, the college’s nationally recognized service-learning program will engage students in the poll worker project from many different disciplines.
The Pray Family Center also has co-organized the second annual New Jersey Voting Summit, which will be held at Princeton University on Sept. 28. This in-person summit is designed to engage Garden State students, faculty, and administrators in political participation and engagement strategies. Registration to attend the Sept. 28 summit may be made here.
