LA CROSSE, Wis., December 4, 2024 – Western Technical College was recently recognized as a 2024 Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting by ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge recognizes colleges and universities for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation. Western joins a group of 471 colleges and universities recognized by All IN for complete four core actions. These include: participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, sharing 2022 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN, developing and submitting a 2024 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN, and having a current signatory to ALL IN’s higher education commitment to full student voter participation.

“Increasing voter participation rates among our college students has been a priority for Western,” said Julie Christensen, Community Engagement Coordinate at Western and the college’s lead on civic engagement. “While our goal as an institution is to position students for well-paying jobs, we also aim to create civically engaged students who care about our community.”

“The research is clear: colleges and universities that make intentional efforts to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement have higher campus voter registration and voter turnout rates. This year we saw more colleges than ever before step up their efforts to ensure that their students were registered and ready to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “These Most Engaged Campuses are setting the standard for nonpartisan civic engagement work for colleges and universities across the country.

Western worked tirelessly to increase voter participation on campus for the fall 2024 election. Efforts included the hiring of two student Democracy Fellows, numerous promotions on voting around campus buildings, and the assistance of providing necessary voter ID information for Residence Hall students.