ECU joins campuses nationwide in effort to support voting
East Carolina University is one of more than 230 campuses in 37 states and the District of Columbia designated as a Voter Friendly Campus through 2022.
Two national nonpartisan organizations — the Fair Elections Center Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education — led the initiative, which held participating institutions accountable for planning and implementing practices that encouraged their students to register and vote in 2020 and future elections.
The Voter Friendly Campus designation recognizes bolstered efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. ECU was evaluated based on a campus plan to register, educate and encourage student voter turnout in 2020. Additional factors included how ECU facilitated voter engagement efforts on campus and a final analysis of its efforts — all in the face of the upheaval caused by a global pandemic.
ECU’s Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement continues to provide nonpartisan voter registration and educational programming for students. Despite COVID-19, the Pirates Vote initiative at ECU provides students with election information through digital platforms and with programs promoting civic engagement and civil dialogue.
“We are so excited to receive this recognition for our work at ECU,” said Dr. Dennis McCunney, intercultural affairs director. “This is a product of a team effort — from community partners like the Pitt County Board of Elections to our student democracy leaders to our professional staff and senior campus leaders. At ECU, our entire campus community is deeply committed to working together to strengthen our democracy and remember that we have a shared future. This recognition is only one step along that critically important journey.”
For more information contact Alex Dennis, Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, at 737-4988 or dennisa15@ecu.edu.
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ECU News Services
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Contact: Alex Dennis, Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, dennisa15@ecu.edu
Telephone: 252-737-4988