News release
College of the Canyons student Jesse McClure is one of 175 students to be recognized nationally as part of the 2023 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll for his voter registration, education and turnout efforts ahead of last year’s midterm elections.
The ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll awards college students doing outstanding work to advance nonpartisan democratic engagement at participating campuses across the United States.
“I feel both surprised, and honored,” McClure, who also serves as student trustee on the college’s board of trustees, said a prepared statement released by COC. “As someone who wants to pursue a degree in public policy and human rights law, student democracy and civic engagement is incredibly important to me. That being said, I only was able to do this because of the resources available to me from College of the Canyons, and I am very grateful for that.”
The 2022 midterm elections saw one of the highest turnout rates of young voters for a midterm election in the past 40 years — an estimated 23% of young people ages 18 to 29 turned out to vote nationwide.
“I wish to energetically congratulate Jesse for his outstanding commitment to civic engagement at the college,” COC Chancellor Dianne G. Van Hook said in the release. “His dedicated efforts to engage his peers to get involved at the local level is inspiring and commendable. It is a privilege to work with someone of his caliber.”
With the help of Patty Robinson, faculty director of civic engagement at the college, and civic engagement team members, McClure was able to organize multiple candidate forums leading up to last year’s election.
Serving as a moderator and interviewer, McClure was able to help candidates feel comfortable while encouraging them to address tough issues, Robinson said in the release.
“I cannot think of anyone more deserving than Jesse to be recognized by ALL IN,” said Robinson. “His interest in participatory democracy, as well as his passion to make a difference through the political process, is infectious.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge encourages colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. With the support of the ALL IN staff, campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement and voter participation on their campus.
“This year’s honorees played a crucial part in registering and empowering student voters ahead of last year’s midterm elections, resulting in historic turnout among young voters,” Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, said in the release. “The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is honored to celebrate hundreds of student leaders encouraging nonpartisan democratic engagement across the country. These students organized voter registration drives, coordinated campus-wide voter engagement resources and brought polling locations to their campuses. We are excited to watch these students continue to change the world.”
