CCP is one of 471 colleges and universities recognized for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation in the 2024 election.
Community College of Philadelphia has been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as a 2024 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting. The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes colleges and universities for their outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation.
“Community College of Philadelphia prepares students to be informed citizens who are active participants in the cultural life of our city,” said College President Dr. Donald Guy Generals. “The College’s outstanding #CCPVotes team and Institute for Community Engagement and Civic Leadership go above and beyond to foster a civic-minded campus culture. I’m proud of our students for making their voices heard through their votes and through their involvement in our community.”
CCP joins a group of 471 colleges and universities recognized by ALL IN for completing four core actions:
- Participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
- Sharing 2022 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN
- Developing and submitting a 2024 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN
- Having a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.
In 2018, Community College of Philadelphia launched #CCPVotes as a civic-engagement initiative to encourage CCP students to participate in the electoral process. In collaboration with the College’s Institute for Community Engagement and Civic Leadership, #CCPVotes offers voter education programming and resources each election cycle.
This year, #CCPVotes registered nearly 300 voters and held more than 10 different tabling events on campus. Tabling events included a National Voter Registration Day event, outreach efforts during Voter Education Week, a Party at the Polls event, and reoccurring voter registration tables on the College’s Main Campus, Northeast Regional Center, and Career and Advanced Technology Center. The #CCPVotes team completed 12 classroom presentations to register students to vote and discuss 2024 ballot candidates. The College also engages with #CCPVotes student fellows, empowering students to practice civic leadership skills and coordinate successful education events.
Additionally, representatives with NextGen America visited campus every day leading up to the election to educate, register, and mobilize voters.
“It’s so encouraging to see firsthand how students at CCP use their voices to improve their communities,” said Michelle Lopez, director of the Institute for Community Engagement and Civic Leadership at CCP. “As educators, we get to guide our students as they learn about the power of their collective voices and how to be active participants in the democratic process.”
To further promote participation in the electoral process, the College established Election Day as a school-wide day of service. Since 2020, CCP closes on National Election Day to encourage students, faculty, and staff to cast their votes, serve as poll workers, and support others who experience barriers to voting.
“The research is clear: colleges and universities that make intentional efforts to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement have higher campus voter registration and voter turnout rates. This year we saw more colleges than ever before step up their efforts to ensure that their students were registered and ready to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “These Most Engaged Campuses are setting the standard for nonpartisan civic engagement work for colleges and universities across the country.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items, with the support of ALL IN staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning and voter participation on their campus. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge currently engages 10.8 million students from more than 1,075 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Campuses can join the ALL IN Challenge at: www.allinchallenge.org/.
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