UD Student Voters Earn National Recognition
Student Engagement
Center for Political Communication
190A Graham Hall, 111 Academy Street
302-831-7771
University of Delaware students show their civic pride during National Voter Registration Day,
Get Involved
- For the latest news about campus programs and events, follow the CPC’s Instagram and join the email list.
- Attend Delaware Debates. On election years, UD invites Delaware’s gubernatorial and congressional candidates to meet for a public forum to discuss their positions on issues that matter most to the state’s voters.
- Get involved at UD … To learn about events and student groups, visit UD's Division of Student Life.
- Get involved with your community … Learn more at UD’s Community Engagement Initiative page.
- Watch a James R. Soles Lecture, presented annually by UD's Department of Political Science and International Relations to observe Constitution Day.
- Explore UD Library’s virtual exhibits. The Trail to the Voting Booth displays political ephemera dating back to 1775. The Votes for Delaware Women documents Delaware’s part in the struggle to secure voting rights for all women 100 years ago.
Kyle Emile (center left, wearing black shirt), founder of the national Free Intelligent Conversation initiative, visited with College of Arts and Sciences Dean John A. Pelesko (center right), UD Communication Professor Lindsay Hoffman, Ph.D. (left of Emile), and University of Delaware students during a visit to UD in October 2019.
UD junior Molly DiSandro addressed a question to guest speaker Gov. Chris Christie when he joined the National Agenda speaker series in November 2019.
Record-Breaking Student Voter Turnout: UD Earns Gold for Civic Engagement
The United States has seen a historic rise in voter engagement, but many young first-time voters may lack access to information about how and where to vote in official elections.
Despite the challeges, the voting rate of University of Delaware students increased significantly in the 2020 presidential election, rising to 75 percent in 2020 from a rate of 55.5% in 2016. In November 2021, UD received the 2021 Gold Seal for excellence in student voter engagement from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. The achievement also earned UD recognition in Washington Monthly’s 2021 Best Colleges for Student Voting Honor Roll.
To learn more, read the UDaily story about UD’s Sept. 2022 poll of registered Delaware voters. Listen to interviews with the candidates on Delaware Public Media’s Candidate Conversations, hosted by Tom Byrne.
Related resources:
- IssueVoter - an online platform that sends your opinions directly to your representative.
- TurboVote - to sign up for voting reminders and get help with voter registration and voting by mail.
