SUNY Geneseo has been recognized by National Voter Registration Day for its remarkable student-led voter registration efforts. The College has also been designated a “Voter-Friendly Campus” by the national nonpartisan organizations Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.
Upcoming Events
Why Do You Vote?
(Wednesday) October 17, 2018 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Stop by our table in the Union Lobby to finish the statement "I vote because..." with a whiteboard or by recording a short response on camera.
Candidates Form in the Union Ballroom
Wednesday, October 17, 7:00-8:30 PM
The Candidates Forum will be moderated by a Dr. Andrew Herman, chair of the Communication Department and Associate Professor. Each candidate will have an opportunity to offer an opening statement, respond to written questions from the audience that will be asked by the moderator, and offer a closing statement. The event will be open to the campus and the Geneseo community. The Livingston County News is cosponsoring this event that will be hosted by our Geneseo Task Force on Voter Engagement and the Center for Community at SUNY Geneseo.
The following candidates have confirmed their attendance:
Nate McMurray (Congress NY-27)
Larry Piegza (Congress NY-27)
Barbara A Baer (NYS Assembly 133rd)
Majorie Byrnes (NYS Assembly 133rd)
Christopher S. Ciaccio (NYS Supreme Court JD (7th))
Ann Marie Taddeo (NYS Supreme Court JD (7th))
Register for Diamond Certificate Credit through the GOLD Program
You are also invited to participate and staff a table at Meet and Greet the Candidates on Wednesday, October 17th from 12:00 Noon and 4:00 pm in the MacVittie College Union Lobby at SUNY Geneseo. This will provide you an opportunity to meet and discuss your candidacy with students, faculty and staff at the College. If you are unable to personally participate, please feel free to send a volunteer or intern to represent you and hand out your campaign literature on one of the four days.
General Election
November 6, 2018 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Curious about the Candidates?
Head to this SUNY website to learn more about the candidates on the ballot!
National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) Report
Our student voting rate in the 2012 Presidential Election was 43% and the student voting rate in the 2014 midterm election was 6%. Based on the extremely low rates reported in the 2014 NSLVE Report, the campus responded by creating the Task Force on Voter Engagement. The Task Force developed a plan to improve voter registration and implemented the SUNY Geneseo Voter Registration and Engagement Plan in the spring and fall of 2016.
In 2016, the voter registration and voter education efforts resulted in increased numbers and percentages across all three sets of data (registration rates, voting rates of registered students, and voting rates for all enrolled students). In terms of numbers, there were 482 more students who registered to vote and 680 more students who voted. The percentage of females voting increased by 16.6% from 2012 to 2016 and the percentage of males voting increased 14.1% from 2012 to 2016. By field of study, the three highest voting rates were 73.0% in Foreign Languages, Literatures and Linguistics; 61.6% in education; and 64.4% in Visual and Performing Arts. By field of study, the three lowest voting rates were 42.1% for Business, Management and Marketing; 48.1% for Biological and Biomedical; and 45.7% in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and Humanities.
The SUNY Geneseo voting rate for students who were registered to vote was 54.6% in 2012 and 63.9% in 2016, an increase of 9.3%. In 2012, 42.6% of the 5,350 enrolled students voted and in 2016, 53.6% of the 5,553 students voted, an increase of 11.0%.
Please browse the documents shared below for all additional information from the NSLVE report:
NSLVE Report (2012-2016 )-SUNY College at Geneseo.pdf (865.4 KB)
NSLVE Report (2012-2016).pdf (1.5 MB)
NSLVE Report (2016)-SUNY College at Geneseo.pdf (251.5 KB)
NSLVE-ExecutiveSummary.pdf (100.6 KB)
ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Action Plan
For 2018, SUNY Geneseo has created an Action Plan that consolidates a large amount of information about our plans for civic engagement. This document is posted on the ALL IN Challenge website (allinchallenge.org) and is posted below.
