Student Voting & Civic Engagement | Biden Institute | Biden School

Photo of President Biden taking selfies with a large crowd of UD students behind him on campus on National Voter Registration Day

Biden Institute

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The Biden Institute
44 Kent Way, Newark, DE 19716

bideninstitute@udel.edu

302-831-4411

Make It Count

Since its inception, the Biden Institute has been committed to promoting civic engagement among the University of Delaware student body.

Make It Count is the University of Delaware’s student-led organization focused on civic engagement and voter registration. The group is a collection of passionate students with different skills and backgrounds, working together to make campus more civically empathetic.

The "Make It Count: DEvote to Vote" campaign, led by a passionate group of both graduate and undergraduate students, is a civic engagement initiative which strives to make every students voice count. Through education surrounding voter registration and elections, living room-style conversations on the issues of the day, and on-campus events, the campaign's goal is to keep students informed and involved on relevant policy topics and ways to make each individual's voice count.

As President Biden often reminds us, elections are about who we are as a people. As students and future leaders, your participation, your ideas and your voices will continue to push this country forward.

If you’d like to get involved in non-partisan civic engagement remotely or on campus, join Make It Count.

To learn more and get involved, please visit Student Central or complete this form.

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In the Fall of 2019, the efforts of the Make It Count campaign were expanded by the Biden Institute director and UD's Vice President of Student Affairs to increase collaboration between departments to create and sustain a civically engaged campus.

Currently the committee has representation from the Office of Leadership, Innovation and Service, Biden Institute, Residence Life & Housing, Fraternity and Sorority Leadership and Learning, Center for Political Communication, Community Engagement Initiative, Student Government Association, Graduate Student Government, and Make It Count. The committee is also advised by the College Republicans and College Democrats.

This committee intends to educate and engage students from all majors in civic processes to enhance their affinity for public service by encouraging voter participation through widely publicizing Turbovote software, providing nonpartisan political literacy education, and offering conducive spaces for civil discourse discussions.

To learn more about this committee, contact Whittington Doctoral Fellow, Chelsia Douglas: cdouglas@udel.edu.

As a UD Student Voting and Civic Engagement Committee member, the Biden Institute is proud to partner with the Division of Student Life to bring TurboVote to the University of Delaware…because voting should be made easy. TurboVote is an online service developed to fulfill this simple proposition. It allows students to register to vote, change their registration address, request an absentee ballot, or simply receive reminders about upcoming elections.

UD students can register with TurboVote and wait to receive a completed voter registration form in the mail to be signed and returned. All forms are sent with pre-addressed and pre-stamped envelopes.

Even if you're already registered to vote, we urge you to register with TurboVote to receive timely election reminders!

Despite political crises from pandemics to polarization, we are reminded of the importance of showing up for one’s community and engaging with the world around you (even if predominantly through digital means). Voting, if you are eligible, is a key way to impact your community! Whether an in-state or out-of-state student, the University of Delaware is committed to helping students make their voices heard in all local, state, and federal elections. The voter map is a tool that provides students with easy access to their home state’s election resource page.

Through the use of this voter map and TurboVote, students are able to remain civically engaged and politically aware in their home state through access to election reminders, and assistance with vote-by-mail processes.