MiddVotes Leads Campus Efforts to Boost Student Participation in Midterm Elections

The nonpartisan student group MiddVotes organized several initiatives on Tuesday to encourage student participation in the 2026 midterm elections.

Throughout the day, the group hosted a voter registration drive on campus. Because Vermont allows eligible voters to register on Election Day, the drive gave students who had not previously registered an opportunity to participate in local elections.

“I saw a renewed interest and passion for politics that I have not seen before during my time at Middlebury,” said MiddVotes President Violet Wexler ’28. “It is tangible when MiddVotes does our work on campus that civic engagement is valued and prioritized by Middlebury students.”

Wexler said same-day registration was particularly helpful for students who faced barriers to voting absentee in their home states.

“We had lots of people vote in Vermont who couldn’t vote in their home state for differing reasons,” Wexler said.

Middlebury Town Clerk Karin Mott said 112 students completed same-day voter registration and cast ballots in local elections.

MiddVotes also organized a free shuttle service between Adirondack Circle and the Middlebury Recreation Center, where students could cast ballots in Middlebury’s local elections. Volunteer driver Donn Marcus transported 61 students to the polls throughout the day.

After polls closed, MiddVotes partnered with the Middlebury College Republicans, Middlebury College Democrats, and political science faculty to host an election night watch party. The event gave students an opportunity to follow election results, hear analysis, and discuss the outcomes with their peers and faculty.

Wexler estimated that approximately 300 students attended the watch party over the course of the evening. “We witnessed so many productive conversations about different races and general civic education,” she said.