Having seen how many students are unaware of how to register to vote, the mechanics of voting, and why voting matters, coupled with my own naturalization as a U.S. citizen, has compelled me to make voter engagement and registration an integral part in my classes and spearhead a college-wide effort in the same realm.

There is so much potential in incorporating voter education in college classes. In addition to demonstrating to students that what they are learning in class is related to real world issues, it gives students the opportunity to practice skills they acquire in their classes. This is what employers (and grad schools) are looking for (see for example, National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Career Readiness). 

Here, I will discuss one in-class lecture and activity that bridges the study of intersectionality and voting education that I conceptualized for a Sociology of Gender class. This, along with additional assignments and activities, was developed while I was an inaugural fellow of the Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars Program funded by the Mellon Foundation. 

There are many ways to introduce and explain the concept of intersectionality to students. To do so, I assign a variety of readings including, but not limited to, an article by Jan Ellen Lewis that discusses that certain women had the right to vote in New Jersey for a short time period after the American Revolution. This and other academic references are used as a launching pad for students to comprehend why universal statements such as “when women got the right to vote” (referring to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920) are not only inaccurate but fail to consider that different women have had different experiences. I provide various examples to students: Single and propertied women in New Jersey during a particular time period could vote, but lost the right to do so. The majority of Black people, regardless of gender, were prevented from voting until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Similarly, until U.S. citizenship was imposed on Native Americans through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, they were also disenfranchised, often until 1957, since voting rights were governed by state laws. I use these examples of exclusion to explain to students what intersectionality is and why intersectionality must be part of social science and humanities research as well as policy analysis. At times, at the end of the lecture, I have asked students to create social media posts directed to a fictitious high school class in which they explain in their own words what intersectionality is and problematize why it is not helpful to speak of the “experiences of women” without applying an intersectional lens.   

In addition, I assist students to register to vote, check their voter registration status, and/or request a mail-in ballot (Centers for Civic Engagement, the League of Women Voters, or other local organizations  are usually able to assist with this.) Importantly, I also have resources available for students who are citizens of other countries. For example, Stony Brook University’s Center for Civic Justice has a country-by-country guide.

There are a number of resources and grants that aim to assist faculty interested in incorporating voter education into their classes. Among them are the aforementioned peer-reviewed Civic Engagement and Voting Rights Teacher Scholars assignments and syllabi, Periclean Voting Modules, Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights, The Center for Artistic Activism, AASCU’s Resources on Voting Education and Engagement, and Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice.

Bernadette Ludwig is an Associate Professor of Sociology and the Director of Civic Engagement at Wagner College. Professor Ludwig’s research focuses on how racism affects African refugees in their ability to find refuge and in the resettlement process. Her other work investigates how community engagement can nurture students’ sense of social justice and belonging.