Mercer University has placed civic engagement at the forefront of its student experience, with initiatives designed to encourage voter participation and awareness among undergraduates. The Mercer Votes program, which serves as the university’s main nonpartisan voter engagement effort, organizes activities throughout the academic year aimed at informing and registering students.
According to Margaret Rooyakkers, assistant director of service and civic engagement, efforts are made to ensure that civic involvement is not isolated from other aspects of campus life. “Mercer really likes to pride itself in the cohesive integration of a lot of our initiatives, especially when we talk about civic engagement in the co-curricular life and blending it with the academics,” Rooyakkers said. “I think it’s really important that civic engagement isn’t siloed. Civic engagement is ongoing. We want to make sure we’re encouraging a culture of participation.”
Lauren Shinholster, associate director of engaged learning, explained that Mercer Votes uses several strategies so students see civic engagement as an integral part of their time at Mercer. Representatives provide information during key campus events such as Opening Days and BearStock, as well as on designated national days related to voting.
During Civic Engagement Week—scheduled for September 15-20 this year—students can take part in activities combining community service with discussions about voting. Mercer Votes also arranges debate watch parties, election night gatherings, and guest speaker events; this fall will feature Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Stanley Stewart speaking about his experiences.
To further integrate voter awareness into academics, Mercer Votes piloted a faculty engagement initiative in 2024-25 that supplied resources for more than 90 classes. The initiative offers slideshows and discussion tools for professors who may be hesitant to address political topics in class. For 2025-26, forty faculty and staff have signed up for the now-titled “Voter Engagement Champion” program.
Student workers known as Mercer Votes Ambassadors and Campus Vote Project Democracy Fellows assist with these outreach efforts. Junior Harris Wallace described his longstanding interest in political participation: “Even in high school, I was hosting elected officials before midterms. It’s been important to me to get people thinking about politics,” Wallace said. “I picked up (an interest) on voting rights in particular.”
First-year and transfer student-athletes also support these programs through a required life skills course focused on community connections; one service option is working with Mercer Votes on campaigns like “Pledge the Vote.”
Mercer has received recognition for its work in promoting student voter turnout. Awards include top honors from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge among Southern Conference schools for several years and being named a “voter friendly” campus in 2023. The university’s program has also secured grant funding from Ask Every Student for multiple years.
“It’s really a driving force, a rallying tool for the work we do,” Shinholster said regarding these awards. “Having these national and regional recognitions also means that we have more partners and are able to get additional support. All of it really points to capacity building.”
Rooyakkers emphasized that students are affected by all elections—not just presidential ones—and stressed ongoing involvement: “Students are affected by the results of all elections, whether local or national, and they can have an impact on the causes that are important to them,” she said.
Wallace added perspective on continued participation: “The theme this year is that voting doesn’t take time off,” he said. “In Georgia, we really do have elections pretty much every single calendar year. We still are voting on really important positions. Your decision that you make at the ballot box is influenced by everything that you’re hearing about politics over the course of that two or four years before the vote.”
Shinholster concluded by highlighting broader goals beyond voting: “There’s always something going on that students can be invested in, so (we are) making sure that they are civically aware that voting is just one aspect of being involved,” she said. “It’s also making sure that they are engaged in the experience and know what impacts them day to day.”
