Otterbein University recently reported that student voting on its campus increased significantly in last year’s presidential election. It rose to 74 percent in 2020, an increase of 12.3 percent from 2016, according to a report from the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education.
Nationally, college students voted at high rates in 2020, with turnout increasing to 66 percent in last year’s presidential election, eclipsing the turnout of 2016 by 14 percentage points. The increase outpaced turnout numbers for all Americans, which rose from 61 percent in 2016 to 67 percent in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“That students, often younger and first-time voters, turned out at rates commensurate with the general public is nothing short of stunning,” says IDHE Director Nancy Thomas. “We attribute this high level of participation to many factors, including student activism on issues such as racial injustice, global climate change and voter suppression, as well as increased efforts by educators to reach students and connect them to the issues and to voting resources.”
Otterbein’s achievement in turnout reflects the ongoing efforts of its non-partisan, student-run campus group Raise Your Voice.
“I truly think the students on our campus are invested in their community and want to make sure that they can make a difference, and a big part of that is voting,” says Otterbein junior Lindsey Payton, a CardinalCorps Leader who co-leads Raise Your Voice. “I think this past election really proves how much we are paying attention to what's happening around us and that we are aware that voting is a great way to make our voices heard.”
