The University of Northern Iowa was the retroactive recipient of the Silver Seal Award from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for after it was discovered UNI had one of the top two student-voting rates in the country.
This belated recognition was received after UNI joined the challenge in the summer of 2018. It was discovered that in the 2016 presidential elections, 67.5 percent of UNI students went to the polls, a figure nearly 18 points above the national average. This success can be attributed to the hard work of student groups on campus, such as the Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG).
“UNI is a campus full of highly engaged and civic-minded students, so it was not a surprise that we would do well, but I am very impressed with the 2016 results,” stated political science professor Justin Holmes. “It reflects not only the engagement of our students, but the hard work of various groups to engage and mobilize them. We look forward to building on our past success and to continue our tradition of high participation.”