Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon congratulated student leaders for their get-out-the-vote efforts at the University of Minnesota Morris during a brief visit to the campus on Friday, December 3.
Data from the Institute for Democracy in Higher Education (IDHE) showed that 75.8% of UMN Morris students voted in the 2020 presidential election, an increase from a rate of 73.9% in 2016.
Additionally, UMN Morris came in nearly 10 percentage points above the national average of 66%. And in 2020, nearly 90% of UMN Morris students were registered to vote.
Simon called those results outstanding.
Simon met with Morris Campus Student Association (MCSA) President Julia Scovil ’22 and Student Representative to the University Board of Regents Cal Mergendahl ’22, along with Acting Chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen; Acting Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean Peh Ng; Vice Chancellor for Finance and Facilities Bryan Herrmann; and Senior Director of Student Activities Dave Israels-Swenson.
Scovil outlined her work during a get-out-the-vote internship she completed last year. Those efforts included:
- Advertising with the student newspaper and radio station;
- Email reminders;
- Creating chalk sidewalk reminders on election day;
- Providing buttons and posters to Community Advisors in residence halls; and
- Arranging election day transportation with the Morris Transit to the polling places.
Scovil and previous MCSA president Sam Rosemark ’21 also worked together to produce short informational videos on topics such as the process to register as a voter and how to request absentee or mail-in ballots.
Simon gave kudos to the Morris leadership and commented that UMN Morris has a reputation for “this kind of ingenuity and activism, a kind of activism made practical and accessible for people.”
Simon also encouraged continued conversations as the campus prepares for the 2022 election, which he noted is just 11 months away.
“You’ve got a great thing going here, the numbers don’t lie and you’ve got a great culture. And we want to have your back.”