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A new issue brief from the American Council on Education (ACE) calls on institutions to take care to ensure that voting resources offered to their students are nonpartisan and that their communications with students are received that way.
“Student Voting and College Political Campaign-Related Activities in 2024” is an update of ACE’s 2023 publication that provides general rules for institutions and campus communities regarding involvement in political campaign-related activities.
“As we have seen during the last academic year, issue advocacy on campuses by faculty, staff, students, and unaffiliated members of the public can quickly become intertwined with, and even fueled by, national and international politics and candidates for election,” the issue brief states.
The 19-page issue brief was prepared by ACE Vice President and General Counsel Peter McDonough and Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP and comprises examples of what is likely to be permissible and impermissible regarding campaign-related activities.
The brief helps to distinguish between permissible issue advocacy and problematic political campaign-related activities. It suggests steps colleges and universities can take to enable students to cast their ballots, including ways to fulfill schools’ obligations under the Higher Education Act.