WU voter turnout rose 8.4 points between the 2016 and 2020 elections

SU’s activist equipment supply will allow students to access megaphones, poster boards and other protest-related resources.

A streamlined voting process enabled a smooth Election Day for on-campus Washington University undergraduate voters, as Republicans swept Missouri’s elections and won a swing House district just west of the University.

Just 52.5% of eligible students voted in 2016 and 41.8% in 2018, but as students head to the polls today, there is optimism that student voter turnout will increase from past years to meet WashU Votes’ goal of 62.5%.

This year, WashU Votes has collaborated with the athletic department and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to run a series of initiatives to help student-athletes engage with the election.

In a short amount of space, #ThisCivicMoment asks contributors to consider questions such as, “How will you act in this civic moment?”, “How will you respond to this civic moment?”, and “What are you committing to doing as a result of this civic moment?”

WashU Votes, a partner of the Washington University Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, is aiming to increase student voter turnout for the Nov. 3 presidential election by 10 points from 2016.

It’s certainly a stressful time of year. You have to deal with midterms, the ever-depressing winter weather, the whirlwind election cycle and, to top it all off, now everyone is telling you that you should probably get a job this summer.

College Democrats and the Gephardt Institute have ramped up efforts to maintain high political engagement within the student body as the March 10 Democratic primaries and the November presidential election approach.

The 2018 midterm elections marked a considerable increase in voter participation amongst Washington University students–in comparison to 15.9% turnout in 2014, the recent midterms brought 41.8% of University students to the booths.