COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND – College student voting nationwide may have been down in 2024 but two Winthrop University sophomores picked up some voter turnout tips at the recent National Student Vote Summit for the upcoming 2026 election.
Even though college students around the country worked to get out the vote at various four-year and two-year institutions, turnout was not what many hoped. Definitive numbers are not yet available but an analysis of exit poll data by Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) shows youth voting down about eight percentage points from the record high of 2020, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Winthrop students Madyson Brown and Justin Feaster attended the summit, held Nov. 20-22 on the campus of University of Maryland, College Park. More than 350 attendees from 35 states attended the event, which was the first large-scale opportunity for the national nonpartisan student voter engagement movement to reflect on the 2024 election cycle. Accompanying the students was Katarina Moyon, who is the special advisor on student voter engagement for the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy which is housed at Winthrop.
“The National Student Vote Summit was an invaluable opportunity to surround myself with other likeminded, civically engaged leaders across the country,” Feaster said. “Seeing the work they did while also presenting ours was extremely energizing and gave me some new ideas for our next election cycle.”
Moyon said the National Student Vote Summit allowed the Winthrop group to engage in a post-election analysis of what is working on college campuses nationwide and what is working at Winthrop. Many participants at the summit observed apathy on their campuses during this cycle because students found both candidates unexciting or they doubted whether their vote would make a difference.
“Fighting student apathy and/or student confusion in an election cycle are keys to better voter turnout, and the summit provided tested tools for what can work at a university,” Moyon said. “Winthrop students were able to present their work on social media initiatives in 2024, which was well appreciated by other attendees.”
Both Brown and Feaster volunteered as student voting ambassadors at Winthrop in preparation for the November election. And both are interested in continuing their voter push efforts.
Moyon said she will be waiting to see the Winthrop student turnout data before deciding what the next action plan will be.
This year’s action plan included a partnership formed between Student Life and Academic Affairs to strengthen voter registration and engagement efforts. A cross-departmental team worked closely to ensure that students heard information about voting and elections in multiple venues and formats. The team also engaged a group of student voting ambassadors to help their peers register and navigate the voting process. This was accomplished through tabling events, speaking to classes, attending events and social media efforts. There also were three voting stations around the campus where students could learn how to register and to take selfie photos.
Winthrop has received several voting accolades over the past few years including recognition by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as a 2024 Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting.
For more information, contact Moyon at moyonk@winthrop.edu.
