The University of Wisconsin-Superior has been recognized as a 2023 – 2024 Voter Friendly campus. UW-Superior is the only institution of higher education in the region to receive this designation.

UW-Superior is one of 258 institutions who continued efforts, even during a non-national election year, to break down barriers and empower students with the information and tools needed to participate in the political process. This work played a part in the tremendous youth voter turnout in the 2022 elections and opened the door to lifelong civic engagement for students.

Campuses were evaluated on their ability to complete a multi-step process, which included engaging a coalition of campus members from staff, faculty, students, community organizations, and local election officials to develop a written plan for how the institution would engage student voters in 2022, facilitating voter education and engagement efforts on campus, and writing a final analysis of their efforts reflecting on what worked and what to change going forward.

The Voter Friendly Campus designation program was started through a partnership between Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA’s NASPA LEAD Initiative in 2016. This partnership was formed as a tool to support higher education institutions fulfilling the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which necessitates that institutions distribute voter registration forms to their students. Due to the lack of instructions and guidance regarding this requirement, the Voter Friendly Campus designation process was developed in an effort to further the work of the Students Learn Students Vote coalition in creating more measurable and manageable guidelines for institutions to follow in order to create a more voter-friendly campus.

The goal of the Voter Friendly Campus program is to help institutions develop democratic engagement action plans that coordinate administrators, faculty, and student organizations in civic and electoral engagement. Participation for the inaugural cohort of intuitions in 2016 enabled campuses to develop comprehensive voter engagement, education, and turnout plans. The program provided expert-led guidance for higher education institutions to offer programs and services relevant to their respective states that enhance the student experience in regards to political engagement. By participating in this program, administrators and faculty developed a strategy to engage students and set clear goals in advance of upcoming elections.