Rutgers-Newark Again Wins NJ Ballot Bowl to Register Voters

For the third year in a row, Rutgers-Newark has won the New Jersey Ballot Bowl, a statewide non-partisan voter registration and engagement competition led by and for students. 

Student volunteers registered a total of 311 voters and gathered 3070 pledges to vote, according to Isnard Mir-Merced, a program coordinator for community engagement with the Office of Student Life and Leadership, which led the effort. 

Rutgers-Newark triumphed over six other New Jersey colleges and universities in Conference 1, comprised of schools with more than 10,000 students. Since 2018 Rutgers-Newark has won the competition, lapsing only during the pandemic in 2021.

For Merced and his team, the Ballot Bowl is a valuable tool to educate students on the importance of democracy and civic life.

“Students are able to recognize the power of their voices in shaping policies and communities. It emphasizes the importance of civic responsibility, educates them on the impact of informed voting, and inspires lifelong engagement in democracy,’’ he said. “The experience reinforces that every vote matters, empowering students to influence change and advocate for issues they care about.”

Rutgers-Newark also won the competition’s Community Engage category for encouraging off-campus voters to register or pledge.

From late August, when the competition began, through Election Day on November 5, Merced’s team hosted a total of 36 events and partnered with various departments within the Division of Student Affairs, including the Intercultural Resource Center, Office of Veteran Affairs and the Office for Career Resources and Exploration. They also partnered with the Office of New Student and Family Programs 

NJ Ballot Bowl is a program of the New Jersey Department of State’s Jersey Civic Engage initiative and a joint effort with the ALL In Campus Democracy Challenge.