Early Bird

MSU Denver gets the gold for voter participation

High student-voter turnout in the 2020 election earns the University recognition by the All In Challenge, with a special award for an outstanding administrator.

By Lindsey Coulter

November 11, 2021

Thanks to broad and inclusive efforts to engage student voters, Metropolitan State University of Denver has earned a Gold Seal from the All In Campus Democracy Challenge for nonpartisan student-voter participation in the 2020 election. Student-voter participation at MSU Denver rose from 65.9% in 2016 (compared with a 50.4% voting rate among all higher-education institutions) to 75.4% in 2020 (compared with 66% across all institutions). This earned the University recognition in All In’s gold category, which honors institutions that achieve a student-voter participation rate of 70% to 80%. The award was announced during the organization’s third biennial awards ceremony Monday.

Additionally, Elizabeth Parmelee, Ph.D., associate vice president of Undergraduate Studies and lead for MSU Denver’s American Democracy Project, was selected as one of two recipients of the All In Campus Democracy Challenge’s 2021 Standout Administrator Award. This award recognizes outstanding leadership in helping students improve nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement and voter participation.

Parmelee said she is pleased to see student voting rates continue to rise, including increases across age, ethnicity, field of study and a number of other categories.

“We have a small but mighty team that leads our efforts, aided and abetted by numerous (faculty and staff members) and students who are willing to remind each other how important our engagement is,” she said. “But we have to recognize our students as the ones who primarily deserve recognition for being engaged despite their busy lives and all the challenges presented by Covid-19.”

More than 840 institutions enrolling close to 9 million students participate in the All In Challenge. According to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, the 2020 election cycle saw unprecedented voter registration and turnout among college students.

“The rise in voter participation and engagement for college students in last year’s presidential election (amid) a global pandemic was tremendous and will undoubtedly be tied to the tireless efforts of the dedicated students, faculty, administrators and partner organizations that are part of the All In Challenge network,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the All In Campus Democracy Challenge, in a statement. “The hard work of these trailblazing honorees will help support many of the country’s future leaders in fulfilling the equitable, engaged vision of democracy to which we aspire.”

Learn more about the All In Campus Democracy Challenge and see a full list of winning campuses at allinchallenge.org/awards-ceremony.