Civic Engagement – including voting and political dialogue – is a powerful form of social change that can benefit many areas of systemic oppression. Learn more about how you can use our democracy to have a social impact!
The PKG Center believes that civic engagement and action opportunities exist all year, every year – not only during election seasons or during a presidential election. Below are a number of ways to get involved and learn more about how MIT and the PKG Center include civic action in our model of social change. If you have questions or want to talk further about becoming involved with our programming, including workshops, trainings, and civic organizer dinners, please reach out to us at pkgcenter@mit.edu to learn more!
Please note that all programs are nonpartisan – every political view is welcome in our civic engagement programming!
Watch the recent panel discussion – Why the 2022 Elections May Determine the Future of Democracy in the U.S.
Home of Turbovote
The PKG Center is the home for MIT’s TurboVote. Through this voting platform all members of the MIT Community who are eligible to vote can:
- Check whether you are already registered
- Register to vote
- Request an absentee ballot, if you choose
- Check the dates and deadlines for all the elections in your state or territory
… and don’t forget to share with your friends!
In addition to conducting outreach for platform use, the PKG Center serves as a liaison between the platform and MITvote to support their use of the platform in a greater campus-wide strategy to increase registered voters.
ALL IN Democracy Challenge
In 2020, MIT joined the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, an initiative that “empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement.” Since then, the MIT ALL IN working group, led by the PKG Center, has been meeting regularly to pursue creative ways to embed civic engagement in the life of the Institute and encourage all members of the MIT community to register to vote.
Student Partnerships Are Key
The PKG Center recognizes that your voices should be prioritized when considering how to engage the MIT community in civic and political dialogue and movements. We regularly engage with the groups below and encourage you to do so, too!
Civic Organizers at MIT (COMIT) is a grassroots and student-led series of (virtual) dinners to learn about and discuss a relevant and current political issue. Led by student leaders from the Undergraduate Association’s Community and Diversity Committee and the Public Affairs Committee with support from the PKG Center, students can join to practice their political dialogue skills and become more comfortable having both easy and more challenging conversations while digging deeper into a political issue.
MITvote is a nonpartisan group of graduates and undergraduates with the goal of engaging an active voter community on campus. Their mission is to make voting as accessible as possible to everyone and encourage civic participation on MIT’s campus. The PKG Center supports MITvote as the institutional home for TurboVote, consulting to support the organization’s strategy and leverage institutional partnerships and other activities throughout the year.
Voting is a vital part of civic engagement, regardless of where we are in any given election year and including state and local elections. Download MITvote’s zoom backgrounds to keep the civic engagement spirit alive!
