Wayne State University unveils on-campus polling location in time for March primary

Students in Midtown will be able to ditch the absentee ballots and long drives home and fulfill their civic duty from the comfort of campus this year.

Wayne State University has established a polling location to serve Detroit's Precinct 149, a little over a month before the presidential primary election March 10.

All voters of Precinct 149 will now cast ballots at the university's polling location inside the Wayne State Law School, 471 West Palmer.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joined university officials and Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey for the announcement Wednesday afternoon at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.

The initiative to bring a polling location to campus was largely led by the university’s Student Senate, namely Senate president Stuart Baum.

“Really, single-handedly this was Stuart,” said Dean of Student David Strauss. “This would not have happened without him.”

Baum said the opening of the polling location is a reason for celebration of breaking down barriers that have previously prevented students from voting and making their voices heard. It will also serve as a vehicle for bridging the campus and Midtown communities, one of the university senate’s overarching goals.

“I think Wayne State students are more engaged than any other students that I know of,” Baum said. “Political activity is part of our identity here and I think this will help with that. It’s beyond voting, this is policy, this is civic engagement on all levels.

“By building this polling location in the Damon J. Keith Center, we will be able to honor Judge Keith’s legacy of fighting for civil and democratic rights, including voting rights. This is an appropriate testament to bringing community members together to exercise their rights under a roof that bears Judge Keith’s name.”

In November, Wayne State University was recognized for student voting engagement, with a student rate of over 50%, earning the university a platinum seal — one of 61 institutions in the country to do so.

“Our students vote, and now we’re just making it easier for them,” Strauss said.

Student voting at Wayne State increased to 53% in 2018 following the midterm elections, up from 27% in 2013, while the national average institutional voting rate was 39% in 2018, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement.

The university board of governors has declared Election Day in November a campus holiday, canceling classes and making it easier for students, staff, and faculty to hit the polls.

“The university has gone to considerable measures to ensure every student’s voice is heard,” Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said. “This student-led initiative celebrates the life and legacy of Judge Damon Keith by making voting and civic engagement more accessible to campus residents. I believe (Keith) would be delighted with today’s announcement.”

Strauss says the number of students living on campus, currently at 3,200, is expected to increase by 600 with the reopening of Chatsworth Apartments in August, which is predicted to lead to a higher voter turnout at the precinct in November. Approximately 1,800 students were registered to vote in Precinct 149 at the time of the 2016 presidential election.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who served as dean of the Wayne State Law School for four years and was previously an associate professor at WSU, said: “It is good to be home.”

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“It is so wonderful to me that we are here, a year later, celebrating doing exactly what I know (Keith) would want us to be doing, celebrating the opening of democracy, the expansion of civil rights right here in the city Detroit out of Wayne State University,” Benson said.

Benson emphasized the presence of Judge Keith’s legacy in the opening of the polling location, almost one year since his death, and remembered his legacy as we approach “our first presidential election without him.”

“I am honored to be a secretary of state during this moment, but my thanks and gratitude go out to all of you,” Benson “Let’s work every day to fulfill the legacy and build on what we’re creating today, make this a precinct that shows the state and this country what democracy looks like.”

Contact Miriam Marini at mmarini@gannett.com or 313-222-2728.