Voter EngagementCommunity Engagement Center

College Awarded Most Engaged Campus Seal

2024 Most Engaged Campus Seal

Gustavus has been recognized as one of the Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting in 2024 by ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge! We are proud to promote nonpartisan civic engagement on our campus and will continue our efforts to increase student voter turnout. 

Election Day - Tuesday, November 5, 2024!

Polls are open from 7:00am-8:00pm today. Gustavus Student Senate will have the Gus Bus running from 8:30am-6:30pm. Come to 3 Flags for a ride to the St. Peter Community Center!

What will be on my ballot?

Sample Ballot: Here is a way to check what is on your ballot. Enter your zip code (of whereever you are planning on voting, i.e. home or St. Peter). There is a lot of great information on the Secreatary of State website (for Minnesota and for other states search for their Secretary of State). Indivisible St. Peter/Greater Mankato has put together an Election Guide you can review (just click on the image). It is a non-partisan guide with information drawn from candidate's websites, election guides, news articles, and public candidate forums.

 

Do you want to vote in St. Peter this year? Pre-register to make is easier!

If you are choosing to vote here in St. Peter for the 2024 election, it would be very helpful if you pre-register as this will save you a lot of time when you go to the polls. Nicollet County Elections has put together a video tutorial  for you to help you understand how to vote. Your registration is based on your dorm and room number, not 800 West College Avenue, so your address technically changes every year. Here is an example of what that would look like on the Minnesota Secretary of State's registration page:

 

Student-Athletes Pledge:

 Are you a Gustavus athlete? Take the 2024 Voter Pledge!

Stay informed. That's what Gusties do.

Check out the many nonpartisian resources from the League of Women Voters website. Another helpful website is related to your major. Check it out at Your Major on the Ballot

Here in Minnesota, get information you need...

We suggest that you go to the Minnesota Secretary of State website and click on the races you are interested in. We also encourage you to continue to learn more about issues that are important to you, engage with others and have conversations (sometimes difficult), and work towards addressing the great challenges.

Gusties Vote 2024 Goals and our 2022 Voter Data: NSLVE_data_2022 

  1. Register 95% of eligible Gustie students to vote
  2. Increase the overall student voting rate to 87% 
  3. Engage in non-partisan programming to increase voter education across the political/ideological spectrum
  4. Remove logistical and knowledge barriers to participation 

History of Gustie Voters

As a liberal arts college, Gustavus has demonstrated a solid commitment to encouraging civic engagement throughout the student body. The Gustavus mission statement promotes “educating students for a life of leadership and service.” Here at Gustavus, we strive to fulfill this statement through the implementation of Community and Justice, which are two of Gustavus’ five core values. These values are the center for all things at Gustavus, including courses, athletics, and student organizations, which have helped to foster a spirit of civic engagement within the student body. - In response to low voter participation (19.1%) in the 2014 election, Gustavus formed its first campus-wide Voter Education Committee for the 2016 election. That year, Gustavus’ voter participation rose to 60.5% and the school became the winner of the first ever “Ballot Bowl” having had the highest number of registered students among Minnesota private colleges. In 2018, the College again became the winner of the State of Minnesota Ballot Bowl, having had 55% of students participate in voting. 

Why You Should Vote

It’s your right!! Being eligible to vote is one of the many privileges we have as United State’s Citizens. For hundreds of years, people have fought and died to achieve the right to vote, which we too often take for granted today. 

  • 1776: only white men who were at least 21years of age and owned land were allowed to vote.
  • 1868: the country expanded voting rights to all male citizens. 
  • 1870: 15th Amendment vowed to eliminate racial barriers when voting; Native Americans were still denied the right to vote; men of color were still prevented from voting through the use of voter discrimination tactics.
  • 1920: 100 years ago, the struggle for Women’s suffrage secured the legal right for white women to vote nationally.
  • 1924: Indian Citizenship Act grants Native Americans citizenship and voting rights.
  •  1965: 55 years ago the Voting Rights Act was passed, which aimed to overcome voting barriers at the polling place, most notably targeting black citizens.
  • 1971: 26th Amendment lowers voting age to 18.
  • 1975: Voting Rights Act is renewed, permanently banning literacy tests nationwide; add Section 203 which requires translated voting materials in areas with a large number of citizens with limited English proficiency.
  • 1984: federal Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act requires polling places to be accessible for those with disabilities.

In a mere century, the United States expanded individual voting rights to encompass the majority of its population rather than the minority. By continuing to utilize your rights, you are not only fulfilling duty to those who are unable to vote, but you are honoring the hard-work so many individuals fought for to obtain for you.

Your voice matters. One single vote can affect the turnout of an election, as we have seen in some of the closest elections in US history. 

  • 2000: Al Gore narrowly lost the state of Florida to George Bush by a mere 537 votes, which allowed George Bush to be elected president by a .009% margin. Had a few hundred more people turned out to support Al Gore, George Bush could have missed out on being president for his 8 years in office.
  • 2016: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly three million votes, but Donald Trump managed to secure more votes in states which uphold a “winner takes all” system where the popular vote gets all of the electoral votes. Had those few states seen slightly different results, the US could have seen a completely different election year.
  • 2018: The House race for Minnesota’s 1st District, which includes St. Peter, was decided by just over 1,000 votes.
  • Low Turnout: When eligible voters do not turnout, not only are they forfeiting their vote, but they are giving more power to those who do vote. A Portland State University Study found that a mere 15% of voters participate in local elections, which involve mayors, council members, and other local offices which have a direct influence on our local communities. A miniscule portion of local citizens end up determining the changes that will affect the entire community.

A few extra voices have the potential to change history. Those few voices can add up very quickly as individuals continue to feel empowered and valued with the impacts of their votes.