Simpson College ranked No. 3 in the nation for student voting

Simpson College (simpson.edu) is ranked No. 3 on Washington Monthly’s Best Colleges for Student Voting list, further solidifying its position as one of the elite schools in the nation for civic engagement.

The honor appeared in Washington Monthly’s annual College Guide and Rankings, which rates schools based on what they do for the country. Simpson’s lofty ranking is a product of an 87.4 percent voter registration rate in 2018 and a demonstrated commitment to increasing student voting.

“It is a great honor for Simpson College to be recognized on Washington Monthly’s list of best colleges for student voting,” said Seth Andersen, director of the nonpartisan John C. Culver Public Policy Center at Simpson. “The credit for this recognition goes to the outstanding team of undergraduate Culver Fellows who have been working for years to improve voter turnout and civic engagement on our campus.”

Simpson promotes student voting in multiple ways. Students lead nonpartisan voter engagement initiatives and conduct outreach events to offer information on registration and voting options for students. The student leaders — through the Culver Center and supported by the Andrew Goodman Foundation Vote Everywhere program and the Campus Election Engagement Project — developed a comprehensive campus action plan for student voter engagement.

In addition, Simpson is co-hosting the virtual, statewide Iowa Campus Voting Summit scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25. 

“Culver Center events promote civic literacy and voter education by offering a broad range of viewpoints on important political and public policy issues,” Andersen said. “Workshops, panel discussions, candidate forums, debates and major events like the annual Culver Lecture and presidential candidate visits give Simpson students opportunities to hear directly from political figures, commentators and experts.”

Washington Monthly’s rankings took into account multiple criteria. The 157 schools on the list submitted an ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge action plan in 2018 and 2020. They signed up to receive registration and turnout rates from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement at Tufts University. And they made 2016 and 2018 NSLVE data available to the public.

Simpson was one of just nine schools nationally to report a voter registration rate above 85 percent in 2018.
 
Contact Information
Cathy Cole, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Communication
Direct: 515-961-1595
Email: cathy.cole@simpson.edu