Campus Votes Coalition is led by and for students
The votes are in: Rutgers University–Camden placed first in its conference in this year's NJ Ballot Bowl competition after receiving the most student commitments to vote in the recent gubernatorial election. Rutgers–Camden also placed second statewide in community engagement for its efforts in registering high school students to vote.
“The ability to encourage nonpartisan democratic student engagement is a commitment that yields results,” said Simanti Lahiri, program coordinator for public engagement, who spearheads on-campus efforts to register student voters.
“Young voters have the power to help write their futures,” Lahiri said. “If you abdicate your right to vote, you are abdicating your power.”
New Jersey’s Department of State works with 28 campuses across the state to engage in Ballot Bowl and to encourage nonpartisan voter participation and engagement. Ballot Bowl is a joint effort with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. It is a statewide non-partisan voter registration and engagement competition led by and for students.
This year, Ballot Bowl 2025 counted both pledges to vote and voter registrations as part of the competition. The combined number of registrations and pledges, as a percentage of total student enrollment, determined the winners in each conference.
Ballot Bowl is not about specific candidates, but about the value of participating in America’s democracy and committing to showing up for communities.
The Rutgers University–Camden Votes Coalition is a student-faculty-staff coalition housed in the Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE). The coalition is dedicated to providing nonpartisan election information, engaging communities in the electoral process, and empowering students to raise their voices through voting.
