UA student recognized on ALL IN Student voting honor roll

The University of Akron (UA) and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) announce that Grace Edwards, a senior UA political science major from Garrettsville, Ohio, has been recognized as part of the 2024 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll. The ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll awards college students doing outstanding work to advance nonpartisan democratic engagement at participating campuses. Edwards joins a group of 137 students recognized for their voter registration, education and turnout efforts during the 2023 elections, which featured critical ballot measures and local and state races. 

"Student leaders like Grace that are passionate, focused and interested in democracy are really moving the needle on getting young people involved in communities across the country," said Corie Steinke, assistant director of civic engagement and leadership programs at UA. "The ALL IN Democracy Challenge is the visible commitment the University is making to show that civic engagement, particularly voting, is important to our students and an easy, impactful way to make effective change." 

Studies show that voting and democratic participation are habits that are built and strengthened over time. A recent survey from CIRCLE showed that 86% of under-35 youth who voted in 2022 and 72% of those who voted in 2020 consider themselves extremely likely to vote in 2024. Colleges and universities - such as UA - play an important role in encouraging their students to become active and engaged citizens at the ballot box and beyond.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. With the support of the ALL IN staff, campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement and voter participation on their campus. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge engages more than 1,000 institutions enrolling over 10 million students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Edwards will graduate from UA on Friday, May 10. After graduation, she plans to stay at UA to obtain her Master of Applied Politics at the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.

Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or [email protected].