Durham Tech named Voter Friendly Campus for second time

The Voter Friendly Campus program has designated Durham Tech as one of its qualified campuses for 2019-2020. Durham Tech is the only college in The Triangle and only community college in the state to have received the designation, according to the program’s website.

This is the second time the College has been given this recognition. The first was in 2016 for the 2017-18 academic year.

“Getting this recognition shows Durham Tech’s commitment to not only civic education, but we are also showing that we are interested in our students not only while they are here but in the long run,” said Erin Riney, Director of Student Engagement at Durham Tech. “We are also interested in supporting Durham in all the ways that we can. This is just one of the ways by having them be informed, engaged citizens.”

The latest designation was awarded based off the various activities that surrounded the midterm elections last fall. The efforts resulted in 1,027 engagements, according to Riney.

During the presidential election season, that number was 1,799.

“We were pleased with the number of interactions this year given that these were midterm elections many students weren’t aware of,” Riney said.

This year’s efforts included voter registration, voter education, ballot access, and voter turnout.

The College held eight voter registration events, resulting in 65 reported registrations. Durham Tech partnered with You Can Vote, based in Durham, and the college’s Student Government Association and library to assist with this endeavor. Additionally, two students served as Democracy Fellows, assisting with coordinating events and engaging their fellow students in voter education activities.

For voter education, Durham Tech hosted a Citizen U series that consisted of four Lunch and Learn events covering such topics as the proposed N.C. constitutional amendments and the offices on the ballots. Other activities included class presentations.

Sample ballots were passed out during the campus’s National Voter Registration Day event, when students were also shown how to find their voter registration information.

The $400 Party to the Polls grant covered renting a party bus to shuttle voters to North Carolina Central University, which was the nearest early voting station.

Other partners included Campus Vote Project, NC Campus Compact, and Campus Election Engagement Project NC, which gave a $1,000 Campus Election Engagement Project Mini-Grant. The mini-grant funded voter-related library materials for different campus library locations.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the reception of our campus community and grateful to external organizations for their support,” Riney said.

For more information on the Voter Friendly Campus award, visit voterfriendlycampus.org.