Sonoma sets benchmark for student voting

STAR // Nicholas Roth

The right to vote when a person turns 18 is not something that is always exercised as an American citizen.  We as the student body have the power to make collective change in the right direction with the power of voting.  In the 2016 Presidential election the national student voting rate was 52 percent.  In the 2020 presidential election there was a significant rise in voter turnout on the student level to 66 percent of the 83 percent registered to vote, according to The Institute for Democracy in Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University.  

Here at Sonoma State however, the voting rate of registered students smashes the national average with 88 percent of registered voters casting their ballots in the 2020 election according to Tufts University NSLVE Campus Report for Sonoma State.  This was a massive increase from the 2018 midterm election turnout of 57 percent.  There were especially large jumps in voter turnout between 2018 and 2020 in the age groups of 18-21 and 22-24.  For 18-21 year olds it increased from 37 to 76 percent, and for 22-24 the jump was from 44 to 73 percent. 

“It is a big deal to have voting rates above 80 percent – the country doesn’t have that. Research shows that people who vote in college will continue to vote for the rest of their lives,” said Merith Weisman, SSU’s Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Initiatives in Professor Aja Laduke’s Blog about Sonoma’s voting turnout.  Getting people to actually utilize their right to vote is far easier when as a government and society we are willing to remove the barriers to cast ballots. 

One major block for many people to get their vote cast and voice heard is having a convenient place to vote or cast a mail-in ballot.   At Sonoma State we have a mail-in ballot box right here on campus for the use of anyone looking to mail-in their ballot, not just students. This accessibility is one of the reasons Sonoma State’s voting numbers are so high. “I am so proud of our students for getting out there and making their voices heard. Voting is an important indicator of civic responsibility. Let’s set an ambitious goal and increase our numbers in the next election.” Said Weisman in Dr. Laduke’s blog.  

If you haven’t registered to vote, do so as soon as possible to let your voice be heard this November for the midterm election. Let’s see if we can top our previous record and be a standout campus for student voting once again.