CCAC Announces FREE “Party at the Polls” Event on Oct. 21, Final Day of Voter Registration
Party at the Polls logo
CCAC joins When We All Vote and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios to celebrate voting season and civic engagement.
CCAC will hold a Party at the Polls event on Monday, Oct. 21, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at CCAC Allegheny Campus (808 Ridge Ave.) in the Foerster Student Services Center. Hosted by When We All Vote and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios, the event is meant to celebrate community college students making their voices heard. CCAC is one of five flagship community colleges in the nation selected to hold the voting celebration.
The party—to be held on the last day to register to vote, Oct. 21—is open to the public and will include live music and a DJ as well as food and interactive activities, voter registration, and opportunities to connect with community organizations and partners. Admission is free, but RSVP is recommended.
To RSVP for the CCAC Allegheny Campus “Party at the Polls,” click here.
For more information on Pennsylvania voting and elections, visit here.
“At CCAC, we view civic engagement as part of a well-rounded educational experience, one that is essential in helping students become informed, involved and integral members of the community,” said Dr. Quintin Bullock, CCAC president.
Dr. Bullock, a signatory to the Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation, noted that the college welcomes and supports opportunities to encourage students to be informed participants in the democratic process.
“CCAC has received ongoing recognition for our college community’s success in fostering civic engagement. We are committed to ensuring that nonpartisan democratic engagement is a defining feature of campus life,” he added.
In September, CCAC received the 2022 Pennsylvania Campus Voting Challenge award for Highest Community College Registration Rate and a Gold Seal for 40–49% voter participation from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.
The community college “Party at the Polls” events are part of a broader effort to close the voter turnout gap between students from two-year schools and those attending public four-year universities. In 2020, community college students — representing approximately one-third of U.S. postsecondary students at the time — had a national voting rate nearly 10 percentage points lower than students at public four-year universities in the last presidential election.
Led by When We All Vote, Michelle Obama’s national, nonpartisan voting initiative, Party at the Polls is a proven, powerful and effective method for encouraging turnout, especially among young voters and voters of color. Randomized controlled trials found that the program increases voter turnout by up to 4 percentage points. In addition to the community college parties, more than 500 flagship, community and volunteer-led Party at the Polls events will take place across the country during early voting.
This year, as part of the Community College Vote ‘24 campaign and the Community College Commitment, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios is building on the global media company’s longstanding commitment to driving new and young voters to the polls by reaching a group that has been widely under-resourced: community college students. Through grants and programming, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment will provide support to 95 community colleges across 22 states.