Our top questions from the 2022 elections
Hundreds of movement leaders came together at the 2022 SLSV Coalition Post Election Gathering. Here are the top questions we are exploring together after another epic election cycle.
Good hunches lead to good research
In the Student Vote Research Network, we are always working to make it easier for a larger group of academic scholars to be among the first to know about important innovations and developments in the movement for 100% student voting. Sharing hunches and observations of community partners and practitioners can help scholars see where new research might be done or where existing theories might need to be expanded or improved.
The SLSV Coalition Post Election Gathering is a key space for learning
On December 6th, 7th, and 8th more than a hundred coalition partners representing dozens of national, state, local, and campus-based organizations gathered virtually at the SLSV Coalition Post-Election Gathering (“PEG”). PEG is a space to build connections and friendships across the movement for 100% student voting, celebrate successes, share lessons learned, and collectively plan for the future of the student vote together. PEG 2022 was SLSV’s seventh annual gathering, and its theme, “Critical Connections,” celebrated and recognized the incredible community of student vote advocates– and friends – that make up the SLSV Coalition.
Top four questions from PEG 2022:
We wanted to share some of the key questions emerging from the gathering where we saw the most energy and “heat” in the group. We hope that these questions can spark ideas for scholars about things you may want to study or explore in the future!
1.What conditions are necessary to catalyze the full brilliance of local leaders?
PEG 2022 concluded with an awards ceremony on December 8th, honoring 11 different awardees for their work in support of the 9 SLSV Coalition Guiding Principles.
From community colleges (such as Cuyahoga Community College) and four-year institutions (SUNY Oswego, Salem State University, Gallaudet University), to local (the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office) and state (the California Secretary of State) election officials, to student organizations (Central Lakes College Student Senate) and national nonprofits (Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project, APIA Vote, All Vote No Play, Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project), each award honored a different pathway toward achieving 100% student voter participation - each as vital and distinct as the last.
We are really interested in working more with scholars to understand the conditions that are necessary for these types of successes to occur. What are the choices that each of us in the field can make every day that would make it more likely that more communities would have the kind of beautiful successes we celebrated with these awards?
2. How do we work with policy makers to create a voting system that welcomes all students?
The first two days of PEG 2022 featured appearances from high-ranking members of the Biden Administration - White House Office of Public Engagement Senior Advisor Hannah Bristol on December 6, followed by US Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Dr. Nasser H. Paydar on December 7th.
In a Q&A with SLSV Communications Manager Zoe Williamson, Bristol shared wide-ranging thoughts on everything from her personal civic engagement “origin story” to the Administration’s plans to expand access to the ballot box while also maintaining - and building - faith in electoral systems among young people. Bristol touted President Biden’s support for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and his Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting, and spoke to some of the issues that make it difficult for young people to vote.
“When it comes to who you’re voting for and how to vote, you need a safe place where you feel like you can get that information and where you can come to ask questions, and where you don’t feel judged for asking those questions and where you can get information that feels really reliable,” Bristol said.
The next day Assistant Secretary Paydar spoke to the importance of safeguarding democracy:
“Voting is not a right guaranteed to everyone around the world. It’s a hard-earned right that you’re fortunate enough to be able to exercise in this country.”
But as we noted in the Fall 2022 State of the Student Vote report, preliminary results from some state policy wins for the student vote movement have been mixed. How do we work together as a movement to convert interest and commitment from policymakers into meaningful change that makes every student nationwide feel welcomed in our democracy?
3. What is the role of students in the work of strengthening American Democracy for all?
During the December 7 plenary, ACLU of Georgia Fellow and Andrew Goodman Foundation Board of Directors Member Evan Malbrough spoke about his experiences in the recent elections in Georgia.
Due to new laws that complicated the voting process, restricted access to voting by mail for many Georgia residents, and compressed the timeline between the general and runoff elections, young local activists like Malbrough were crucial to helping ensure local voters had the information and resources they needed to show up on both election days.
“Young people are leaders,” Malbrough said. “When I go out and look at who’s on the ground and who’s really doing the grunt work necessary to get the turnout, it’s young people. A lot of young people are really embracing their identity as constituents and using it to achieve what they want in their community.”
4. How do we organize our own coalition spaces to expand collective strategic capacity?
The “Critical Connections” theme permeated programming throughout PEG 2022, intentionally seeking opportunities to help participants bond in ways that have been all-too-rare over the past two-plus years. From simple activities like icebreakers and call-outs of proud accomplishments, to image association games that prompted participants to explore their motivation for supporting the student vote, each day began with programming designed to spur interaction and empower participants to collaborate meaningfully. The end result was a gathering in which the SLSV Coalition’s philosophy of collaboration grounded in trust was on full display.
All this trust building and culture building takes time and energy. How do we know what’s really working and worth it? What opportunities are we missing because we interact with each other in a way that doesn’t enable us to fully see each other’s ideas and access our collective intelligence? Are there ways for scholars to help us more systematically select for the work we do that makes us smarter and stronger together?
What’s Next
Our movement is fundamentally built to learn from one year to the next. Just this week, the SLSV Coalition announced our 2023 Advisory Board. Our board and partners will be reflecting on these four questions as we seek to continue growing and learning together ahead of crucial elections in 2023 and 2024. We hope you will join us in this journey! What ideas do these questions spark for you? What unique knowledge or perspective do you bring to the way we think about them? I’d love to hear from you and bring your ideas into our movement at this crucial moment for our democracy.
Danny Fersh is Communications Director for the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition.