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our approach

Our Story

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Creative Campus Voting Project Co-Leads Hannah Smotrich and Stephanie Rowden with the summer 2024 CCVP research team  (photo: Ben Zink)

We began with the idea that, as artists and designers, our creative toolbox could help address the gap between registration rates and actual voter turnout on our campus. Since 2018, we have been exploring the potential of art and design to make voting more accessible to new voters. As educators, we have the opportunity to design in close proximity and conversation with students, giving us an invaluable window into their experience. Our creative research team works year-round with our campus partners, our city elections officials and regional partners.

Our unique contribution to the UM-Ann Arbor voter engagement community relies on the power of visual design and the vibrancy of creative play. You can read more about our approach to supporting student voters with art and design in Making a Difference with Design, an essay we wrote for the ALL IN Democracy Challenge Forbes channel.

   

Selected Recognition for CCVP's work: 

U-M North Campus MLK Spirit Award for Institutional Change & Advocacy, 2024
SEGD/Society for Environmental Graphic Design
Global Design Awards,  2021
City of Ann Arbor Proclamation, 2023
Election Center/The National Association of Election Officials, Stars and Stripes Award, 2023
US Department of Education Student Voter Toolkit, featured Example from the Field, 2024

Brennan Center for Justice, cited in report, Voting on Campus: Student-Centered Solutions to Build Election Resiliency, 2024

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Selected Press:

Universities transform art museums into spaces for voting and political discourse, PBS NewsHour's "Art in Action"

Second voting hub opens on University of Michigan campus to boost young voter turnout, CBS News Detroit

University of Michigan Designs Joyful Voting Experience, American Council on Education
10 Campus Museums Shine a Spotlight on Democracy, New York Times
A recap before election day, Michigan Radio
Creative campus project helps U-M students navigate voting, WXYZ Detroit
Behavioral science insights used to create college voter spaces, increase U-M campus voter participation, U-M Michigan News
The Daily Heller: It’s Your Right. Use It or Lose It!, Print Mag: The Daily Heller
University of Michigan students shattered voting records in 2020, Click on Detroit

Creative Campus Voting Project is part of the UMICH Votes Coalition. Together we work to expand access, educate, and engage student voters in the democratic process. Coalition partners include: the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office, U-M Turn Up Turnout, the Ginsberg Center, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Duderstadt Center Gallery. We are grateful for the many colleagues, students, and voting experts that inform and enrich this work.

Our work is supported by the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design,
University of Michigan Office of the Provost, and University of Michigan Office of Research.

Creative Campus Voting Project

Creative Campus Voting Project

© 2024  Creative Campus Voting Project

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