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Elections and Democracy
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Democratic Engagement

The Community Engagement Center works collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students across the Macalester community to cultivate a campus culture that encourages participation by all students, regardless of voting eligibility, party affiliation, or voting status. Mobilize Mac is the umbrella framing that the Community Engagement Center uses for all elections-related work, whether it’s a mayoral, midterm, or general election cycle. This work includes the following, and more detail can be found in Macalester’s Democratic Engagement Action Plan:

  • educational activities
  • continued community organizing training
  • voter registration on campus
  • voter registration off campus
  • issue-based education and engagement
  • civil dialogue
  • educational activities with K-12

Everyone is welcome to engage with the issues that matter most to them. Join the conversation online with #MobilizeMac and #HeyMac.

Macalester Voting Data

Along with 1,100+ other higher education institutions, Macalester participates in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE). This study tracks overall voting rates for presidential and midterm elections among students eligible to vote:

  • 2014 Midterm Election: 49%
  • 2016 Presidential Election: 81.9%
  • 2018 Midterm Election: 72.8%
  • 2020 Presidential Election: 79.1%
  • 2022 Midterm Election: 53%
  • In 2016 and 2018, the Macalester voting rate matched the high point of the overall range across all 1,100+ participating institutions! Regarding midterm elections, the average voting rate at peer institutions is 30%.
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Macalester is also a proud campus member of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, which encourages higher education institutions to help students form the habits of active and informed citizenship, make democratic participation a core value on their campus, and cultivate generations of engaged citizens who are essential to a healthy democracy. View our All In record here!

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