Fixing the Information Gap in Local Elections: A Public Service Role for Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Many college students are motivated to vote in presidential elections. Like most Americans, however, they are far less likely to vote in elections for local officeholders. Often this is because they have little to no information about the candidates. Starting in 2020, with university support, the author and a colleague began providing nonpartisan information about candidates for local offices in their county. Their website is available to students and voters throughout their county. More colleges and universities should undertake similar ventures, which would fill a vital and underserved public need, strengthen the civic behaviors of college students, and enhance democracy.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ See: https://compact.org, https://aascu.org, https://www.projectpericles.org, and https://www.aashe.org.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cindy Elmore

Cindy Elmore ([email protected]) is professor in the School of Communication at East Carolina University. Prior to getting her PhD in Journalism and mass communication, she was a journalist for 18 years and has reported from 18 different countries.