NJ Ballot Bowl 2024 is a program of the New Jersey Department of State’s Jersey Civic Engage initiative, and a joint effort with the ALL In Campus Democracy Challenge. It is a statewide non-partisan voter registration and engagement competition led by and for students! This year Ballot Bowl 2024 will again count both pledges to vote and voter registrations as part of the competition. The combined total of registrations and pledges, as a percentage of total student enrollment, determines the winners in each competitive conference.
This year New Jersey will elect the President, as well as members of Congress and a Senator. There are also municipal and county offices on the ballot. The Ballot Bowl is a great opportunity to speak to voters about the impact that their vote makes in their communities and the nation and how it strengthens our democracy.
Voter registration is an initial step in the voting process, but not the only step. This friendly competition is also about persuading people to commit to vote. That will mean talking specifically about the value of voting, not about a particular candidate, but how voting affects all of us. We believe that when people feel they have a stake in their community they are more likely to participate in its public life, involve others, and vote.
As an additional optional contest within the Ballot Bowl, we will again be conducting the Ballot Bowl Community Engage competition. This separate and optional contest focuses on teams increasing civic and voter engagement in the broader community that their campus is part of by registering voters and asking for pledges to vote for the November General Election.
Ballot Bowl 2024 will begin on Tuesday, September 3 and will run through Election Day, November 5. There will be a formal statewide kickoff event in September during Constitution Week and an award Touchdown Ceremony just after the election.
Watch the 2024 Ballot Bowl Kickoff Event
Hear directly from New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux
Download: 2024 Kick-off Event Flyer
Congratulations to our New Jersey Ballot Bowl Winners. Thank you to all the winners and to all the schools that participated in this year’s New Jersey Ballot Bowl. Your hard work improved voter and civic engagement of our youth across New Jersey and strengthened our democracy.
Conference 1:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Newark
2nd Place: Rutgers University-New Brunswick
3rd Place: Kean University
Conference 2:
1st Place: William Paterson University
2nd Place: The College of New Jersey
3rd Place: Seton Hall University
Conference 3:
1st Place: Mercer County Community College
2nd Place: Ramapo College
3rd Place: Rutgers University-Camden
Conference 4:
1st Place: Centenary University
2nd Place: Drew University
3rd Place: Berkeley College-Woodland Park
Ballot Bowl Community Engage:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Newark
2nd Place: Rutgers University-Camden
3rd Place: Montclair State University
Conference 1:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Newark
2nd Place: Kean University
3rd Place: Montclair State University
Conference 2:
1st Place: The College of New Jersey
2nd Place: Middlesex College
3rd Place: William Paterson University
Conference 3:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Camden
2nd Place: Mercer County Community College
3rd Place: Ramapo College of New Jersey
Conference 4:
1st Place: Centenary University
2nd Place: Saint Peter’s University
3rd Place: Berkeley College
Ballot Bowl Community Engage:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Newark
2nd Place: Montclair State University
3rd Place: (tie) Kean University, Middlesex College & Rutgers-Camden
Conference 1:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Newark
2nd Place: Kean University
3rd Place: Montclair State University
Conference 2:
1st Place: The College of New Jersey
2nd Place: William Paterson University
3rd Place: Princeton University
Conference 3:
1st Place: Rutgers University-Camden
2nd Place: Ramapo College of New Jersey
3rd Place: Mercer County Community College
Conference 4:
1st Place: Centenary University
2nd Place: Saint Peter’s University
3rd Place: Felician University