The Students Learn Students Vote (“SLSV”) Coalition, the largest nonpartisan network in the United States dedicated to growing student voter participation, hosted the 10th annual National Student Vote Summit November 12-14 at the University of Maryland, College Park (“UMD”), in partnership with UMD, the Maryland Democracy Initiative, and TerpsVote. The three-day gathering brought together 325 total attendees, including 184 college students representing institutions from 36 different US states and the District of Columbia, and more than 100 representatives from nonprofit organizations and state and local election offices. It was the largest gathering in the Summit’s 10-year history.
During the Summit’s opening reception, keynote speaker Leela Strong, the Newhouse Director of Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), announced top-line findings from the 2024 National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, which measures college student voter participation in US elections. According to CIRCLE, 76% of eligible college students registered to vote in the 2024 presidential election, with 53% of eligible college students voting that fall.
Programming throughout the Summit highlighted the reach and vibrancy of the SLSV Coalition, including a November 13 panel on the role of higher education and its leadership in sustaining our democracy featuring Delta College President Dr. Michael Gavin, Montgomery College President Dr. Jermaine F. Williams, and Urban College of Boston President Yves Salomon-Fernandez, as well as breakout panels and workshops throughout November 13 and 14 on topics ranging from youth voting rights, to combating misinformation and disinformation, and facilitating nonpartisan dialogue around elections in campus communities.
“The 2025 Summit was a celebration of so much of what we stand for as a Coalition,” said SLSV Coalition Co-Founder and Executive Director Clarissa Unger. “Throughout the event, there was a palpable sense of energy, camaraderie, and momentum as people from across the country came together to collaborate and share their perspectives on what’s happening on their campuses and in their communities. The Summit helped strengthen the nonpartisan student vote movement, and especially the connections that bind us and will help guide our work in 2026 and beyond.”
On the afternoon of November 13, Summit attendees came together for an interactive goal-setting activity that will form the basis for the SLSV Coalition’s 2026 agenda, which will be released publicly in the coming months. Following the goal-setting session, SLSV Coalition Co-Founders Clarissa Unger and Sam Novey were joined by dozens of past and present leaders of the nonpartisan student vote movement to tell the story of SLSV’s origins, evolution, triumphs, and resilience. Together they told the story of an organization and a Coalition that, in the past decade, has:
- Raised and distributed more than $4 million to Coalition partners and campuses to support nonpartisan student voter engagement efforts.
- Supported 1,962 campuses in participating in the Campus Takeover of the Civic Holidays.
- Supported 843 campuses in writing nonpartisan action plans.
- Supported 397 campuses in participating in the Ask Every Student initiative.
- Seen 138 individuals representing 109 nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions serve on the SLSV Advisory Board.
“Looking back on our Coalition’s first meeting with just 30 attendees, it’s hard to believe we can host such a large gathering of people committed to growing the nonpartisan student vote movement,” said Unger. “At the same time, when I think back to the amazing work so many people have done to advance this work, I know that none of it was by accident, and our reach will only continue to grow.”
The National Student Vote Summit was made possible by the following sponsors:
- The University of Maryland
- TerpsVote
- Maryland Democracy Initiative
- ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
- Levi Strauss & Co.
- Democracy House
- League of Women Voters
- VoteRiders
- The Ronald Reagan Institute
- Every Vote Counts
- Institute for Responsive Government
About the SLSV Coalition
The SLSV Coalition is the national hub and largest nonpartisan network in the United States dedicated to increasing college student voter participation. The Coalition convenes and connects partners, campuses, and students with each other and with resources and programming towards achieving a vision of ensuring that every student has easy and equal access to participate in every election. They use data, relationships, celebration, and easy-to-follow planning structures, to help campus and local leaders register and turnout more student voters every year. The SLSV Coalition is a project of NEO Philanthropy. NEO Philanthropy is strictly nonpartisan, and does not support or oppose any candidate or party.