“WE WANT TO EMPOWER STUDENTS TO BECOME LIFELONG VOTERS AND ACTIVE CITIZENS,” —Katie Montgomery, Director, Government Relations
ASK EVERY STUDENT TRI-C IS ONE OF 31 SCHOOLS TAKING A NATIONAL ROLE IN VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS TO INVOLVE MORE STUDENTS IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS When it came time to select colleges to lead the way on student voter participation, Cuyahoga Community College won in a landslide. Tri-C joined an elite group of colleges and universities named as codesigners for “Ask Every Student,” a project of the National Resource Consortium on Full Student Voter Participation. Tri-C is the only Ohio school — and one of two community colleges — on the list. Other higher education institutions among the 31 named as 2020-2021 Codesigner Campuses include Harvard University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. The goal of Ask Every Student is to develop programs that achieve 100% college student participation in elections. Historically, young adults have voted at lower rates than older age groups. “We want to empower students to become lifelong voters and active citizens,” said Katie Montgomery, Tri-C’s director of government relations. “Casting a ballot is the way we make our voice heard and how we build our future.”
Ask Every Student highlighted Tri-C’s “The Voting Experience” project as a best practices model for democratic engagement. The exhibit familiarizes students with the process of registering to vote, researching candidates and issues in a nonpartisan fashion, and casting ballots. The Voting Experience debuted in 2018 as a hands-on display and continued last year. It was offered virtually in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Visit tri-c.edu/tricvotes to view the videos.) This year’s The Voting Experience project at Tri-C was led by four students: Sebastian Canales of Parma, Arwa Elmashae of Shaker Heights, Charese Harrison of Maple Heights and Chukwudalu Okafor of Cleveland. Each is a Democracy Fellow with the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project, a national movement to empower student voter engagement. Motivating students to vote is woven into the College experience at Tri-C. The school has been recognized as a “Voter Friendly Campus” for its efforts to help students participate in the political process.
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