CORRECTION: A previous version of this article included a photo that incorrectly identified University of North Carolina Wilmington student Xitlalli Gomez. Elon News Network regrets this error.
The 10th annual NC College Voter Summit was held at Elon University in the Moseley Center on Sept. 12 and involved students and staff from 16 schools across the state. It was co-organized and co-sponsored by members of the NC Campus Voting Coalition, a nonpartisan group of organizations that promote civic engagement and political education on college campuses.
Samantha Delap is a program coordinator for North Carolina Campus Engagement and member of the planning team for the NC Campus Voting Coalition. Coming off a presidential election year, Delap said the coalition wanted this year’s summit to focus on keeping students engaged in voting and politics.
“A lot of college students, especially if they're not from the city or the state that they're going to college in, might feel like they don't necessarily have a role to vote in that community,” Delap said. “That's not true, because it's your electricity bill, it's the sidewalks that you walk on. If you have a lot of traffic every morning when you're going to school, that's a local elections issue.”
According to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, the voter rate across all higher education institutions for the 2022 midterm elections was 30.6%. Elon’s voter rate during the 2022 midterm elections was 25%.
Elon Votes is a campus initiative that uses this data to guide their work providing students with the necessary resources to register to vote and cast their ballots.
North Carolina was considered a swing state in the 2024 presidential election, and Elon Votes helped to educate students and ensured they were registered to vote in North Carolina or their home state. Andrew Moffa, co-advisor of Elon Votes, said the Elon Votes team always makes an effort to attend the NC College Voter Summit.
“It was really cool just to hear from other staff what the voter engagement work looks like on their campus,” Moffa said. “Each campus is different, but I think we all have the same values of providing nonpartisan support, meeting students where they are and helping encourage people to engage in democracy.”
The summit featured panels for students and staff. It also included breakout sessions covering how to develop year-round strategies for civic engagement, using digital tools to promote messages, voter ID and proof of citizenship laws .
Attendee Maria Siquina from the University of North Carolina Wilmington said she enjoyed all the collaboration throughout the event.
“We all engage with different students across universities,” Siquina said. “It's great to see how everyone is taught different things when it comes to civic engagement.”
From left to right: Xitlalli Gomez, Jarissa Molina, August Hutchins and Morgan Kim add stickers to their proposed voter engagement campaign at the NC College Voter Summit on Sept. 12.
The final activity of the event, VoteTank, was inspired by Shark Tank and challenged groups of students to create and pitch a voter engagement campaign they can return to campus with.
Morgan Kim, an attendee from the University of North Carolina Asheville, said she was excited to implement the ideas her group discussed back at her campus.
“I know that UNC Asheville, we’re very special because we are very politically motivated,” Kim said. “So I'm sure that our student body will be really excited to engage with this as well.”
Attendees of the NC College Voter Summit on Sept. 12 work on a voter engagement campaign as part of a SharkTank-inspired activity.
All In, a nationwide organization that aims to foster a culture of civic engagement on college campuses, partners with NC Campus Engagement for the NC College Voter Summit.
Olivia Antigua, a senior program manager for All In, said she enjoyed seeing people learn how to impact their communities.
“It’s just so great to see people being inspired and empowered to learn about their own voice and how they can make a really big impact on the community,” Antigua said. “Whether it’s their college campus, their state, their hometown, just thinking like a global citizen.”
Olivia Antigua, senior program manager for All In, presents "Developing Year-Round Nonpartisan Civic Engagement Strategies" in a morning breakout session at the NC College Voter Summit on Sept. 12.
Organizers including Antigua and Delap stressed the importance of voting as a civic duty and responsibility of Americans. They both encouraged students to make a habit of voting and staying informed on current issues.
Sessions at the summit for staff members were also important as they emphasized staff roles as models for students.
“As a university, we're in a really unique position to reach a lot of students, to help encourage them, to help teach them, because this will be their first time voting,” Moffa said. “It's cool to be surrounded at the summit by people who all care about it, whether that's other campuses or organizations separate from campuses. We all believe in the work that we do, and we know that it's important and necessary for a healthy democracy.”
NC College Voter Summit 2026 is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2026 at Elon University.