This week, I received Cabrini’s voting history.* In the 2012 election, 72% of eligible students were registered to vote, and 55.1% of all students at the University voted. That number was above the national average, and significantly above the voting rate at other colleges and universities like Cabrini.
Every two years (more often in some jurisdictions), voters turn out to make decisions on international, national, state, and local issues and policy. We vote on issues that affect our lives, and for politicians who will make decisions on our behalves. Decisions on taxes, health care, the economy, international refugees and immigration, peace and war, education, workplace safety, and so many other areas will be made over the next few years, and we are selecting the leaders who will make those decisions for us. It is not just a right and responsibility to vote, but it makes sense to vote because it impacts every part of our lives.
One of our goals at Cabrini is to give students the insights and skills to bring about meaningful change. Voting is one way to make real change in our society.
For more information about voting (including deadlines and information about requesting an absentee ballot), visit the Wolfington Center website.
(One department in general needs to get a shout out. Communication and Journalism majors had a 100% voter turn-out in 2012! Wow!)
*This information was published in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, by the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University.