BERRY INSTITUTE OF POLITICS Fall 2022 Newsletter As this fall semester comes to a close, we are still celebrating the success of student voter participation in this past Midterm Election. It is estimated that 27% of youth (ages 18-29) cast a ballot in 2022, making this the midterm election with the secondhighest youth voter turnout in almost three decades according to Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. At Salem State University, we saw levels of voter registration and turnout at our on campus polling location matching presidential election years. While we’ve historically had voting rates above the national average, this year we decided to transform our voter engagement to be more strategic. The Berry IOP launched the Vikings Vote Coalition to collaborate with departments across campus to intentionally integrate voter engagement into their areas. To build upon these new partnerships, we applied for and received about $4,500 in grants from Ask Every Student and Campus Takeover, which are national initiatives to mobilize students around elections and achieve full student voter participation. As you will read in this newsletter, these grants enabled us to hire a cohort of Vote Ambassadors and host a variety of new, collaborative programs. Although we won’t get our official student voting data until October as part of NSLVE, this evolution of our initiatives earned us national recognition. We were recognized by All In Campus Democracy Challenge in the inaugural cohort of Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. We are also recipients of the Investing in Institutionalization Award from the Students Learn, Students Vote Coalition which recognizes an organization that instills consistency and accountability in student voter engagement through leadership, engagement, planning, and assessment all year, every year. We are proud of all that our small team has accomplished and grateful for the support from our IOP Advisory Board, generous donors, and the Salem State community! Wishing you a bright new year! Samantha Giffen, Assistant Director
Vikings Vote Ambassadors
The Berry IOP hired 10 Vikings Vote Ambassadors who were responsible for supporting students through their voting process including helping them register to vote, learn about the candidates, and make a plan to vote. Each Ambassador served as a liaison with a specific community or department to inspire a culture of voting across campus including with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC students as well as Faculty, Residence Life, First Year Experience, Student Organizations and more. Throughout the semester, our Ambassadors helped 450 students register to vote and talked to over 3,500 students about voting through class visits, tables, events, texts, and more!