Empowering Voices: UNO Recognized for Voter Engagement

Students’ voices matter in shaping our local communities and the world, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is committed to amplifying those voices. With the approaching 2024 general election, UNO strives to cultivate a culture that encourages civic engagement and learning on campus.

The UNO Office of Engagement is honored to announce that the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge has awarded UNO the 2024 Highly Established Action Plan Seal for our nonpartisan democratic engagement plan.

ALL IN recognizes higher education institutions that meet their criteria for “promoting civic learning, political engagement, and college student voter participation.”

• The 2022 National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement report shows that UNO had a 78% voter registration rate and 48.2% voter turnout rate in the 2022 election - well above the overall institutional average.

• UNO has a Voter Engagement Committee consisting of over 40 faculty, staff, students, and community organizations who work collaboratively to ensure students are registered, educated, and voting in the upcoming elections.

• UNO is one of 192 campuses to receive ALL IN’s seal of recognition.

Toni Monette, civic engagement coordinator in UNO’s Office of Engagement, worked on strategies and action plans for our campus this year. She understands the value of students being actively involved as voting citizens.

“As we look toward the 2024 General Election and local Nebraska elections in Spring 2025, we are committed to playing a significant role as an institution to ensure everyone has equitable and inclusive access to participate in the electoral process,” said Monette. “All politics is local, and we are dedicated to continuing to be a leading voice in empowering our campus to meet the moment and create a movement of civically engaged changemakers.”

Students can find voting information and resources, including ways to volunteer, through UNO’s Office of Engagement. Voter registration information for in-state and out-of-state students can be found on the Nebraska Secretary of State website.

In mid-September, UNO will celebrate Constitution Week. Constitution Week is observed across the country annually as an opportunity for citizens to acknowledge, reflect, and examine one of the founding documents of the United States. View the calendar of events.