 Secretary Read Launches Campus Challenge to Boost Student Voter Turnout
SALEM, OR — Today, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read launched the Oregon Campus Voting Challenge to boost student voter participation in the upcoming general election.
“Our elections decide our future, and no one has more at stake in that future than young Oregonians. However, too many young people don’t vote because they don’t feel connected to the process. That’s why we launched the Oregon Campus Voting Challenge. It’s a proven approach to building civic engagement among young adults,” said Secretary Read. “We are going to keep finding ways to get Oregonians involved in our elections because our state is stronger when more people make their voices heard.”
The challenge is debuting with 20 colleges and universities from across the state. To join, the institution must commit to taking a series of actions to improve nonpartisan civic engagement on campus, including:
- Helping students build the habits of an engaged citizen.
- Making nonpartisan democratic participation a core value on campus.
- Convening a nonpartisan campus-wide working group that includes students and administrators.
- Engaging with data to improve campus resources and programming to support nonpartisan student civic engagement.
- Developing and implementing a nonpartisan action plan to improve civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation.
“At Chemeketa, we believe education is about more than preparing students for successful careers. It’s also about helping them find their voice, recognize that their opinion matters, and see themselves as active participants in the communities they call home,” said Chemeketa Community College President Jessica Howard. “Voting is one of the most direct ways students can put that sense of belonging into action. Through the Oregon Campus Voting Challenge, we can help students build the knowledge, confidence, and habits they need to participate in our democracy, not just while they are in college, but throughout their lives.”
Oregon’s campus voting challenge is in collaboration with Civic Nation’s ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a nationwide initiative that empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement.
Based on past elections, campuses that are highly engaged in ALL IN programming have voter turnout rates that are 4-6 percentage points higher than their peers.
Oregon institutions and individuals who participate in the challenge are eligible for a variety of national recognitions from ALL IN. These are awarded for achievement in areas such as: creation of a strong action plan, extraordinary engagement with students, and exemplary individual nonpartisan actions boosting campus voter turnout.
“As college students return to campus ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, they will navigate new syllabi, schedules, and opportunities to make their voices heard. ALL IN commends Oregon’s commitment to nonpartisan civic engagement on college campuses, and we are proud to partner with Secretary of State Read to launch the Oregon Campus Voting Challenge to empower and support thousands of students to vote not only in November, but throughout their entire lives,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.
The Oregon colleges and universities participating at launch are:
- Blue Mountain Community College
- Chemeketa Community College
- Clackamas Community College
- Columbia Gorge Community College
- Eastern Oregon University
- Lane Community College
- Lewis & Clark College
- Linfield University
- Linn-Benton Community College
- Mt. Hood Community College
- Oregon State University
- Pacific University
- Portland Community College
- Portland State University
- Reed College
- Rogue Community College
- Tillamook Bay Community College
- University of Oregon
- University of Portland
- Western Oregon University
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