Colleges are vital to American democracy, bringing people of all backgrounds together to engage in respectful and constructive discourse.
Yet a recent survey conducted by The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) said Gen Z does not see their values represented in government and questions whether anything will change. Nearly half say it doesn’t matter if they live in a monarchy or dictatorship instead of a democracy.
Student Program Advisor Scarlet Martino is determined to change that narrative, asking, “Why don’t people believe in the system anymore? How can we restore faith in elections and democracy in our country?”
Madison College has found a way to re-establish confidence in the election process by participating in the All In Campus Democracy Challenge. This organization empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement.
Martino, who oversees voting and civic engagement efforts across the college, wrote a plan outlining proposals for increasing voter awareness and timed for the 2024 elections. This plan was submitted to the National Review Board, where it received a score high enough to be awarded the Highly Established Action Plan.
“It is important for everyone to have a voice, especially on the local level. There are so many elections that come and go, and people aren’t even aware of them,” Martino said
To continue their commitment to campus involvement and education, Martino listed components of the Highly Established Action Plan devised to engage and guide students.
Living Room Conversations
Martino and the Student Voter Awareness team have invited Living Room Conversations to the campus, a national organization that created a toolkit and model to talk about controversial issues in a productive and healthy way.
Living Room Conversations is a facilitated guide that brings together students to discuss a topic, for example, a matter affecting the campus community. The group then has a conversation about the issue, with the idea of teaching people how to have productive political discourse even if they disagree with one another.
The date will be determined, but the team will collaborate with the Student Senate.
National Voter Education Week
The school also participates in National Voter Education Week, an open-source, nonpartisan voter education campaign, where students can find their polling location, understand their ballot, plan to vote and inspire others to get involved.
During National Voter Education Week, the school will present voter events on Oct. 7-10, beginning with Campfire Conversations and the League of Women Voters Registrations. Events will be held at both the Goodman South campus and the Truax Center.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that protects and expands voting rights and ensures everyone is represented in our democracy. It will visit the campus to register students to vote. The team will conduct various tabling sessions throughout the semester to educate students about Turbo Vote, the campus platform where students can check their registration status and find their polling location.
Turbo Vote
Madison College Turbo Vote is a customized voter registration site for the college. Students, staff and faculty can register to vote, request an absentee ballot and find a polling place. They can sign up for reminders, voter registration and ballot return deadlines.
Because the school’s enrollment includes students in the Dual Enrollment program, often students under 18, they are not eligible to vote. However, Madison Turbo Vote provides younger people with an opportunity to pledge.
The site will also text a reminder to the student on their 18th birthday, prompting them to register to vote.
Non-partisan Events
In the context of these upcoming meetings, the team will prioritize remaining non-partisan. Martino said she and the student leaders would not take a political stand and would never suggest one candidate over another.
They will, however, provide guides written by national journalists. These guides are available on https://guides, a site that offers non-partisan information about the candidates, their platforms and their beliefs. Martino said it’s essential to see the whole picture of civic engagement and voter awareness.
“We often think that voting is the final piece, but it’s the first step to casting the ballot,” she said.
Martino encourages students to remember that community work needs to be done outside of voting, which is more about civic participation, like learning how to have productive discourse, talking about the issues and holding elected officials accountable.
“These local elections are very much influencing your career and your day-to-day life, so it’s really important for people to not only know how these things impact them but that their voice really matters. It’s important to have a democracy where everyone has a voice and a vote,” Martino said.
Visit WolfPack Connect for a list of National Voter Education events.