Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Recognized as 2022 ‘ALL IN’ Most Engaged Campuses for Student Voting

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as a 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes colleges and universities for making intentional efforts to increase student voter participation. TAMU-CC joins a group of 394 colleges and universities recognized by ALL IN for completing these four actions:

• Participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
• Sharing 2020 NSLVE Reports with campus voting data with ALL IN
• Developing and submitting a 2022 democratic engagement action plan with ALL IN
• Have a current signatory to ALL IN’s Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation.

“I am very excited about this acknowledgement of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge,” said Dr. Sanne Rijkhoff, TAMU-CC Assistant Professor of Political Science. “Being one of the most engaged campuses for college student voting is a great recognition of all the work we put into nonpartisan civic engagement over the past years. This national recognition not only shows the impact our student leaders are making, but it also empowers all students to become engaged and make their voices heard.”

Rijkhoff, who also serves as faculty advisor to the Political Science Club at TAMU-CC; chapter advisor to Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society; and fellowship coordinator to the Democracy Fellowship, said efforts to engage Islander students were made by students themselves, including members of the above listed organization, plus members of the Student Government Association and University Council of Student Organizations.

This fall, Islanders increased campus engagement through a new campaign called, I-Vote — a voter awareness campaign targeted at students, faculty, and staff, encouraging them to share their voice at the polls.

Outreach events for I-Vote included the assembling of voter information bags that contained stickers, pens, ballot information, voter ID requirements information, and links to online material. Students also set up voter registration tables and helped organize debate and election night watch parties. 

Islander graphic design major Chris Gonzales ’24, helped design the logo and promotional materials for I-Vote.

“For this campaign, I was tasked with creating a new logo, buttons, stickers, and posters to help spread the word to the university. Once we added some refreshed branding, it really worked well to get more eyes on the call to action,” Gonzales said. “I-Vote did a great job in creating opportunities to get students to exercise their right to vote.”

Islander Democracy Fellow and political science major Jameson Tidwell ’25 says creating campus engagement is just one of the cornerstones to a more civic-minded Islander community.

“Civic engagement includes promoting political discourse such as encouraging students to attend debates and answering any questions that individuals may have about voting,” Tidwell said. “As a student myself, it is important to encourage student engagement in voting because I am able to connect with my peers and help them understand and navigate the government processes that affect our everyday lives.”

In fall 2021, TAMU-CC was also awarded a Bronze Seal as part of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.  

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge currently engages over 9 million students from more than 950 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.