Elections and Democracy

NC Campus Compact seeks to improve civic life by actively engaging our member institutions in initiatives that help develop and promote practices and habits of democracy. This includes nonpartisan election engagement, census engagement, and civil discourse and dialogue.

In 2008, we began partnering with the Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP), a national, nonpartisan effort to help colleges and universities involve students in elections. Through our partnership with CEEP as well as the Puffin Foundation, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, through the years we have been able to disseminate nearly $100,00 in mini-grants to campuses throughout the state, host Election Engagement Fellows programs, organize the annual NC College Voter Summit since 2016, and share resources and information with our campus members throughout the state.

2020 Election Engagement

NC Collegiate Citizenship Project (NC-CCP)

In summer 2020, thanks to funding from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, NC Campus Compact launched the NC-CCP to promote election engagement and civil discourse and dialogue on member institutions throughout the state.

Learn more

Ask Every Student Initiative

This year we are grateful to be a partner organization of the Ask Every Student Initiative. This initiative provides a framework to integrate voter participation efforts broadly across campuses with the goal of full participation. We are grateful to the Students Learn Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition for funding to support an Election Engagement Coordinator from September – December.

Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) Partnership

We are grateful to once again partner with the Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) to promote election engagement. We received a grant to provide promotional materials to our campus network and to provide mini-grants to three member campuses: Lenoir-Rhyne University, UNC Wilmington, and Wake Forest University.

Election Holidays

NC Campus Compact is a proud partner organization for the three major election holidays: National Voter Registration Day (September 22); National Voter Education Week (October 5-9); Vote Early Day (October 24).

NC Census Fellows & the #MakeNCCount Video Contest

In spring 2020, NC Campus Compact developed and hosted the NC Census Fellows program. These students worked to mobilize their campuses and community to ensure a complete census count. Funding was provided by the NC Counts Coalition.

Meet the Fellows
Read Fellowship highlights
See the #NCCensusFellow social media campaign. Twitter │ Instagram

We also partnered with the NC Counts Coalition to sponsor the #MakeNCCount Video Contest. These videos, targeting college students, provide information about the census in creative and fun ways. There were two categories for contest submissions: Informational and Inspirational. Each winner received a cash prize. The winners were:

1st place Informational category: Deja Mayfield, North Carolina A&T State University
2nd place Informational category: Love Cesar, NC A & T State University
Inspirational category winner: Lauren Bagby, Winston-Salem State University

Learn more and view the videos

NC College Voter Summit

Every September, since 2016, NC Campus Compact hosts a convening of students, faculty, and staff who lead non-partisan, campus-wide voter engagement efforts. With the help of national and state partners, participants learn and share innovative strategies and practical information to support college voter registration, voter education, and electoral participation.

NC Campus Voting Coalition

Since 2012, we have helped facilitate conversations among a group of organizations focused on getting college students engaged in voting. NCCVC meets virtually each monthly to share resources and individual projects. The Coalition also organizes the annual NC College Voter Summit. Here is a link to
an organizational summary page of the current Coalition members listed below. You can click on the individual links below for more information.

Advance Carolina
ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
Blueprint NC
Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP)
Campus Vote Project
Common Cause NC
Democracy NC
Equality NC
Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights
NC Asian Americans Together
NC PIRG
North Carolina Black Alliance
Students Learn Students Vote Coalition
Southern Vision Alliance
You Can Vote
Young Invincibles