The College of New Jersey hosted the 2025 New Jersey Votes Summit on Friday, September 19.
The free event brought together New Jersey campuses to support nonpartisan voter engagement ahead of the November 2025 Election.
“The NJ Voting Summit was a great collaboration among the schools in our state to focus on topics related to civic engagement,” said Avani Rana, director of co-curricular and leadership development at TCNJ. “This year, we changed the focus of the conference to talk about local elections and how students can really make an impact on their community, not just through voting, but through broader engagement within their community.”
Faculty, staff, and students from colleges and universities throughout New Jersey attended the event, which included panel discussions, speakers, breakout sessions, and networking roundtables.
Participants included Kari Osmond ’09, associate vice president for government and community relations at TCNJ; Mayor of Hamilton Township Jeff Martin ’05; Eash Haughton ’19; Robert Matos-Moran ’18; and Catherine Tung ’15.
“The NJ Voting Summit gave students the opportunity to learn directly from alumni who are committed to civic engagement in their post-college careers,” Osmond said. “Hearing those stories helped show students that their voices matter, and that participation in democracy is important to shape their futures and communities.
United States Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim contributed prerecorded video messages.
The event was sponsored by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a national initiative aimed at increasing student voter participation and fostering a culture of civic responsibility within higher education.
— Luke Sacks