With the 2024 election approaching, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt continues his storied commitment to safe and accessible elections.
Schmidt and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge opened up the 2024 PA Campus Voting Challenge on Aug. 7 encouraging students to register to vote. The nonpartisan initiative was launched in 2020 to improve youth voter turnout and empower students to engage with their lifelong civic duties.
Schmidt, Philadelphia City Commissioner at the time, notably refused to cooperate with efforts to overturn the election in 2020. Schmidt testified before the Jan. 6 Committee about his experience in dealing with election fraud claims and the threats he and his family received as a result. In 2023, Gov. Josh Shapiro selected Schmidt to be Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and later tapped him to head Pennsylvania’s Elections Threat Task Force.
The challenge encourages colleges and universities to submit nonpartisan civic engagement plans to help students register to vote and stay informed on elections. Winners will be awarded in three categories: highest voter turnout, most improved turnout, and highest voter registration.
“Voting is the most fundamental right in our representative democracy, and college educators and administrators are uniquely positioned to encourage our youngest eligible voters to register and make their voices heard,” Schmidt said. “After all, these voters have an enormous stake in the future direction of our Commonwealth and our country. We hope that every young voter becomes a lifelong voter.”
ALL IN works nationally toward making election participation a social norm. In 2022, Pennsylvania was largely represented on ALL IN’s “Most Engaged” campuses list with 37 colleges and universities competing in the challenge.
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) reports an estimated 27 percent of youth cast a ballot in the midterm elections. It’s the second-highest youth voter turnout in 30 years. CIRCLE also estimates that youth turnout was higher in battleground states like Pennsylvania.
Schmidt was joined by university and college presidents across the state eager to kick off the challenge and start their civic engagement plans.
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“Secretary Schmidt was honored to participate in the recent PA Campus Voting Challenge kickoff event and was excited to feel the enthusiasm and energy from the university presidents who will be working alongside faculty and students to increase voter turnout in the upcoming election,” the Department of State press office said on his behalf.
To expand its reach and support, ALL IN says it will prioritize support for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and community colleges, provide campuses with free nonpartisan voting portals, and offer campus grants.
The DOS shared that Schmidt and the Shapiro Administration are on the lookout for opportunities to increase civic engagement. One of these opportunities is the Federal Work-Study Program.
“Those opportunities come in a wide variety of ways, including, for students, continued participation in the PA Campus Democracy Challenge and the recently implemented Federal Work-Study Program that opens eligible students in Pennsylvania to employment opportunities in nonpartisan civic engagement work in election offices and polling place with get-out-the-vote initiative,” said the DOS.
Schmidt believes engaging young voters in the democratic process and finding those opportunities to increase engagement helps maintain lifelong voters.
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“[Schmidt] is hopeful the students who participate in the PA Campus Voting Challenge — and those they help register to vote — remain committed to making their voices heard now and in the future in federal, state, and local elections,” the DOS said.
The winners for the 2022 challenge will be announced at the Youth Voting Summit at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on Sept. 20.
