Student Voting Network is a program of the Campus Vote Project, itself a project of the Fair Elections Center. Through online group messaging and monthly calls, the network seeks to organize student activists and college voting groups across the country, prioritizing minority voting. ¹ Members of its advisory board have ties to elected Democrats.

Student Voting Network is a member of the Declaration for American Democracy coalition, a project of Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen Foundation. ²

History and Composition

Student Voting Network was founded as an initiative of the Campus Vote Project’s student advisory board prior to the 2020 election to coordinate student voting engagement. Its seeks to connect student activists and student voting groups around the country. ³  In 2018, Student Voting Network joined the left-wing Declaration for American Democracy coalition. ⁴

Student Voting Network’s parent organization, Campus Vote Project, was launched by the left-of-center Fair Elections Center in 2012. In 2014, Campus Vote Project began a fellowship program for student activists that has since graduated 186 fellows.  In 2016, Campus Vote Project partnered with National Association of Student Personnel Administrators to launch an extensive campus partnership plan. Since then, Campus Vote Project has focused on increasing its presence in its six core states (Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia). ⁵

Sarah Batson, the chair of the Campus Vote Project’s student advisory board which operates Student Voting Network, is also a legislative aide to Texas state Senator Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas). ⁶ The National Director of Campus Vote Project, Virginia lawyer Mike Burns, previously worked as executive director of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. Other staff members of the Campus Vote Project have also been involved in Democratic politics or left-leaning activist groups. ⁷

Activism

Student Voting Network operates through group messages and calls to connect various student voting groups across the country. ⁸ It also operates a podcast which discusses voting issues, typically from a left-of-center  perspective with focus on engaging minority voters, criticizing claims of voter fraud which it calls “the Big Lie,” and defending universal mail-in voting. ⁹

The Campus Vote Project, Student Voting Network’s parent organization, focuses on promoting student voting, particularly in community colleges and majority minority institutions. The group’s activism focuses on its six core states, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, all of which are typically swing states. However, the group also partners with colleges in 42 states to promote campus activism and increased ease of voting for students. ¹⁰

1. “Student Voting Network.” Campus Vote Project. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://www.campusvoteproject.org/student-voting-network
2. “Our Members.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed February 6, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/
3. “Student Voting Network.” Campus Vote Project. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://www.campusvoteproject.org/student-voting-network
4. “Our Members.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/
5. “About.” Campus Vote Project. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://www.campusvoteproject.org/about
6. “Sarah Batson.” LinkedIn profile. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-batson/
7. ^[1] “Staff.” Campus Vote Project. Accessed March 18, 2023. https://www.campusvoteproject.org/staff
8. “Student Voting Network.” Campus Vote Project. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://www.campusvoteproject.org/student-voting-network
9. “SVN Podcast.” Spotify for Podcasters. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/svncast
10. “About.” Campus Vote Project. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://www.campusvoteproject.org/about