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Number of Frostburg State University Students Voting Doubled Between Midterms

September 24th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

More than twice as many Frostburg State University students voted in the 2018 midterm election than cast ballots in the 2014 election, mirroring a trend nationwide of increased student voter engagement, according to a report from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE).

The Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life conducted the NSLVE study. The study shows that nationwide, the voting rates at participating college campuses doubled on average compared to the previous 2014 midterm. In 2018, 1,761 Frostburg students voted, compared to 869 in 2014. The average institutional voting rate at Frostburg was 38.4 percent of all eligible voters, 20 percentage points higher than 2014’s turnout rate of 18.3 percent.

National rates matched Frostburg’s within one percentage point. Turnout increases were widespread, with virtually all campuses seeing an increase over 2014.

“Participation in the electoral process is a pillar of our democracy, and I am happy to see Frostburg State University students becoming active citizens,” said FSU President Ronald Nowaczyk. “They are educating themselves and becoming involved, taking on public concerns to strengthen their communities.”

At Frostburg in 2018, 83 percent of students eligible to vote were registered, a 3.9 percent increase over 2014, while 46.3 percent of those registered cast a vote in the November 2018 election, a percentage that more than doubled the 23.1 percent from 2014. On Election Day 2018, 908 students cast ballots in person, 236 voted absentee and 174 took advantage of early voting.

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