Princeton Vote100 Hosts 2024 New Jersey Votes Summit

Oct. 23, 2024

On Saturday, September 28, Vote 100 and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students welcomed faculty, staff, and college students from across New Jersey for a voting summit and workshop series. Hosted jointly with the ALL-IN Campus Democracy Challenge, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), Rutgers University-Camden, Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC), and Ramapo College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Votes Summit created cross-institutional connections, developed the leadership skills of students, and facilitated conversations about college student engagement with voting initiatives.

Mindful of the forthcoming 2024 general election, presenters reiterated voting deadlines and discussed voting statistics about young voters. New Jersey had the highest participation rate of college voters in the 2020 election cycle, and the New Jersey Votes Summit was designed to build on that success for the 2024 election.

Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, kicked off the program with the presentation of awards for the New Jersey Campus Voting Challenge. Princeton University was awarded a Silver Seal for nonpartisan student voter participation efforts in the 2022 Election.

Following the presentation of awards, Avani Rana, director of co-curricular and leadership at TCNJ, facilitated a student engagement panel featuring Sarah Kasziba-O'Rahilly of TCNJ,  Alex Simone of Rutgers University-Camden, and Genevieve Shutt of Princeton University. Student panelists emphasized the importance of a student-centered approach to voter registration and ensuring accurate information is accessible to students. 

After the student engagement panel, Lori Moog, director of service learning and community outreach at RVCC, moderated a panel discussion on the importance of poll workers and the process for getting involved. The panel discussion featured Fran Boshell and Victor Komosinski, two students at RVCC leading the RVotes Matter Campaign to raise awareness of voting. 

The NJ Votes Summit concluded with roundtable discussions on topics ranging from engaging non-voters to navigating disinformation to overcoming voter apathy.  A total of 17 New Jersey colleges were represented during the summit, which was hosted in the historic Whig Hall of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society at Princeton University. Students, staff, and faculty attended from Berkeley College, Centenary University, Mercer County Community College, Middlesex College, Montclair State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College, Rider University, Rowan University, Rutger University – Camden, Rutgers University – Newark, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, and the College of New Jersey.

For more information on Vote 100's activities for the remainder of the semester, visit vote100.princeton.edu and follow Vote 100 on instagram

Attendees from Berkeley College Woodland Park pose on the steps of Whig Hall.

Attendees from Berkeley College Woodland Park pose on the steps of Whig Hall. 

Attendees watch as Lori Moog,  Fran Boshell, and Victor Komosinski of RVCC discuss the importance of working the polls.

Attendees watch as Lori Moog,  Fran Boshell, and Victor Komosinski of RVCC discuss the importance of working the polls.