With less than one week left until the midterms, faculty are uniquely positioned to promote and prepare students for the upcoming midterms. Read on for details on resources and ideas that can be used in academic and co-curricular spaces to improve student voter education and turnout.
Faculty members can be an important and direct source of election information for students. The Scholars Strategy Network has created a Faculty Guide to Student Voting in Your Classroom for tips on educating students about the value of civic engagement and increasing turn out on Election Day.
Consider sharing democracy and civic engagement promoting concepts that also connect to your course content or learning outcomes. A number of issues-focused examples have been created by the Ask Every Student initiative, from ensuring our water is clean for animal comsumption (animal & vet sciences students) to examining appropriations for school funding (education students) to exploring how policy can impact quantum science breakthroughs (physics students), there is something for everyone.
While the big name national and state elections may have more air time, local elections also impact students and the issues they care about! Faculty can help students learn ahead of time what is on their ballots – including ballot measures and referendums. Clemson Libraries created a Clemson Votes libguide that highlights sources for newspapers, election information, candidates and issues, and ballot items.