USD Votes is a committee composed of students, faculty, and administrators who support the mission of the University of San Diego by working to increase civic awareness and voter participation in the USD community.
We participate in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, and use the information collected in that study to guide our efforts to register voters on campus.
USD participates in the All In Campus Democracy Challenge. When we began organizing, we received a Bronze Seal for excellence in student voter turnout in 2016. We then won a Gold Seal for having voter turnout above 40% in 2018, and another Gold Seal for having voter turnout above 70% in 2020. We most recently won a Silver Seal for having voter turnout above 30% in the 2022 Midterm Election!
Each cycle, we write a constantly evolving, ambitious plan to register and turn out more USD students. We welcome input and new participation from all sources!
University of San Diego is one of 129 campuses that has earned the Highly Established Action Plan recognition for the 2026 election cycle. By developing a nonpartisan democratic engagement action plan, USD received high marks on the Strengthening American Democracy Action Planning Guide rubric.
Follow our Instagram account @usdvotescampaign, where we frequently post updates and highlight members of our USD community.
If you're interested in joining our efforts in preparation of upcoming Election Days, please follow us on Instagram, send us a DM to let us know you're interested. We will then add you to our email list and keep you updated with our volunteer opportunities.
During Spring and Fall 2026, USD Votes will be offered as a 1 credit political science class. Volunteer opportunities outside of class are also available.
To get more information about the USD Votes class, you can also email Dr. Casey Dominguez, caseydominguez@sandiego.edu.
For general questions about the work of USD Votes please email usdvotes@sandiego.edu.
Do More!
Do you feel comfortable interacting with the public?
Want to promote USD Votes in your own community?
That's fantastic!
Looking for resources to share? Please check out and share our Instagram account, @usdvotescampaign, where you will find videos and infographics about how USD students can register and vote.
We also have a flyer that describes the basics about registering to vote. Feel free to share and post!
For faculty: If you're a faculty member, check out our advice about how to encourage your students to vote, and what laws to watch out for if you are giving any kind of extra credit around election activities.
We are happy to support your efforts to spread the word about voter registration and voting. Let us know how we can help!