T he ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge announced today that Georgia College student Axel Hawkins, a history major from McDonough, Georgia, is one of 137 college students nation-wide selected for the third annual ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll.

The ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll recognizes college students at participating campuses who have “gone above and beyond to advance nonpartisan student voter registration, education and turnout efforts in their communities.” Georgia College President Cathy Cox nominated Hawkins for the award.

“I was raised to vote in every election, even if you didn't love the candidates, because using your voice in a democracy is the most impactful way to make change,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins added, “While I have my own candidates who I support and campaign for, it is even more important to me that every eligible voter turns out and votes, which is why I made voter registration one of my priorities.”

Hawkins is president-elect of the Georgia College Student Government Association and was just recently awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship; she is Georgia College’s second Truman Scholar in as many years.

According to a release from ALL IN, students were a driving force in getting their campuses registered and to the ballot box in 2023. The ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll “highlights students who played a key role in driving voter registration, education and turnout on their campuses.”

Georgia College began their partnership with Civic Nation and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge in 2016, according to Dr. Jan Hoffmann, professor of Rhetoric. Hoffmann coordinates nonpartisan voter registration efforts on the GCSU campus by organizations like Civic Nation and the American Democracy Project

“Ms. Hawkins is continuing our institution’s tradition of sustained voter registration efforts,” Hoffmann said. “ALL IN recognized Georgia College with the GOLD Seal award in 2020 for having the highest voter registration rate of all public 4-year institutions."

The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) verified Georgia College had a campus voting rate of 41.2 percent in the 2018 midterm election cycle and a 76.1 percent voting rate in the 2020 presidential election cycle – both well above the national average voting rates for college students.

The 2024 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll includes honorees from 36 states, representing 20 community colleges, 20 Hispanic-Serving Institutions, eight Historically Black Colleges & Universities, and seven Asian American Native American Pacific Island Serving Institutions. The full list of student honorees is available here.

Cover Photo by Anna Gay Leavitt. 2024 SGA Officers, from left: President Axel Hawkins, Vice President Leah Kelly, Secretary Charlotte Middlebrooks and Treasurer Serena Myrvold.

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