Preparing for National Voter Registration Day 2021

September 20, 2021

What Should Faculty Say on National Voter Registration Day?

National Voter Registration Day is celebrated on Tuesday, September 28, but feel free to use this guide in the days before or after!

The last major U.S. election was both high stakes and historic for college students. While the NSLVE (National Study on Learning Voting & Engagement) data is still being analyzed, we know that 2020 was a good year for student democratic engagement, and we don’t want to lose that momentum!

Here are three things that you can do as faculty members:

1. Do our students vote? Our most recent one-pager from NSLVE is shown here. All too often, students register to vote but do not or cannot follow through. Since our Clemson yield rate is under 80% for major election years, we should get to work! Check out our full set of 2018/2014 data and 2016/2012 data to see differences in student voting by major. Talk about this in class. Share with disciplinary societies, student leaders, living-learning communities, campus clubs, innovators, etc.
2. Educate students about voting mechanics. We sometimes call these the “3 Pillars”: voter registration, voter education, and voter turnout. This is a critical role for faculty. Consider a “nudge” by using those pre-class minutes while students enter the (virtual or in-person) classroom by sharing a slide deck or making a QR code. A short Clemson Votes slide deck is available for you to download and share in your classes.
3. Confront misinformation and help students find quality information. Many great resources exist that help students to understand the topic of misinformation, navigate websites and other media, and fact-check questionable sources. Our Clemson Library faculty have created a “Media Literacy for Voters” guide. As important as it is to help students develop sound viewpoints, we can also help them identify if their go-to sources are trustworthy. Our Clemson colleagues Dr. Darren Linvill and Dr. Patrick Warren have created an excellent “Spot the Troll” tool to help the public learn to spot the markers of inauthenticity in social media accounts. Consider working with students on identifying accurate and trustworthy data sources in the subject matter you teach, and pull back the curtain on how these skills also benefit our democracy.

2021 faculty guide created by the Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights (FacNet) Curricula and Scholarship Subcommittee and with materials from the Institute on Democracy in Higher Education.

For more Clemson Votes information, check out bit.ly/ClemsonVotes