PioneerVote Club Recognized for Raising Students’ Voting Rate

The student led organization participated in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

Sacred Heart University recently received a silver designation for its participation in the 2020 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, due to the efforts of the student run organization, PioneerVote.

The club helped to increase voter participation and registration significantly at Sacred Heart, leading up to last year’s presidential election. In order to participate in the challenge, the University had to share a copy of its National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement report.

PioneerVote’s president, Ashley Czermak, explained that the ALL IN Challenge, a nonpartisan initiative, partners with institutions of higher education to encourage students and other younger voters to have greater participation in state and federal elections. “Statistically, young people between the ages of 18 to 23 have the lowest turnout in elections, and the ALL IN Challenge and PioneerVote work to change that,” Czermak said.

“PioneerVote was awarded silver recognition from the ALL IN Challenge for its role in increasing Sacred Heart University's voter registration rate by 24.1% in 2020, bringing our school's voting rate to 68.1%―greater than the nationwide rate of 66%,” said Czermak. “Our organization is incredibly proud of our participation in the ALL IN Challenge and the result of our work in bringing our student community's voter registration to a higher number than seen in the 2016 elections.”

Professor Gary Rose, government department chair, is the club’s adviser. Carlos Ruiz, alumnus and current graduate student was co-chair in 2020 with Meridith Kennedy ’20 and, with support from the University president’s staff, they fostered this initiative and executed exemplary efforts to see it succeed. Alumna Alessandra Leone also played a major role in getting students involved in the club’s initiatives.  

PioneerVote’s intention is to promote students’ involvement with politics by exercising their right to vote. The first step is to ensure students are registered in their home state. The club set up tables around campus multiple times in 2020 to promote registration for those who had not registered or who needed to re-register.

“One of our biggest initiatives in 2020 was getting to team up again with SHU athletics,” Ruiz said. “I was able to speak directly to SHU student-athletes about getting their team members registered to vote in Connecticut or in their home states. We also coordinated table times outside the Pitt Center where athletes could register. This was done in conjunction with Northeast Conference (NEC) Votes, which is our athletic conference. This gave even more reason for PioneerVote to team with the athletics department, as NEC Votes was tallying up the number of students registered within our conference.

“I had the opportunity of representing PioneerVote in an interview with the NEC about the importance of voting,” said Ruiz. “I also represented PioneerVote at SHU’s 2020 Constitution Day event, where I, along with the presidents of College Democrats and College Republicans, talked about the 2020 election.”

When the ALL IN Challenge was presented to Rose, he said there was no question as to whether PioneerVote and SHU should participate. “This is something the students generated from an idea hatched in the president’s office. President (John) Petillo said it was time for a more concerted effort on campus to get our students involved. Of course, this has always been my goal in my 40 years at SHU,” Rose said.

“Carlos Ruiz, our former club president, and the rest of our former board, must receive the utmost credit for their hard work,” said Czermak. “Our club could not have impacted the SHU community without their dedication. We hope to continue this positive impact on the students of Sacred Heart and continue to help make their voices heard.”

Visit the PioneerVote webpage to learn more.

Photo caption: PioneerVote President Ashley Czermak, right, looks on as Ciara Monteverdi fills out a voter registration form.