Levi’s Voting Initiative Targets Community College Students
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) is keeping its tradition to promote voting registration and turnout alive this year.
The denim brand is teaming with Lyft and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios (MTVE) to launch Community College Commitment, a new nonpartisan initiative aimed to close the voting gap between U.S. community college students and those at four-year universities.
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Though community college students accounted for approximately one-third of U.S. post-secondary students in 2020, the initiative reports that the national voting rate for community colleges was nearly 10 percentage points lower than four-year universities in the last presidential election.
With 2024 is the biggest election in history with elections in over 50 countries, the companies are joining forces to ensure the opportunity to vote to accessible to all and to close the voting gap. The participating companies aim to close this gap by turning out 500,000 new community college voters by 2028.
Community colleges, which represent more than 10 million students, are traditionally more diverse than four-year colleges and universities. Among the undergraduate student population, the initiative reports that community colleges account for 39 percent of all Black students, 48 percent of all Hispanic students, 34 percent of all AAPI students, and 52 percent of all Native American students.
“Community colleges are a vital onramp for millions of Americans into career opportunities and a brighter future,” said Clarissa Unger, SLSV Coalition co-founder and executive director. “By addressing barriers and supporting nonpartisan student voter engagement, we can ensure community colleges are onramps into our democracy as well, helping millions of traditionally underrepresented citizens make their voices heard in our elections.”
Through partnerships with nonpartisan nonprofit partner organizations Students Learn Students Vote Coalition (SLSV) and the American Association of Community Colleges, the Community College Commitment will launch a series of activations to promote voting education.
Activations—spanning direct grantmaking, in-kind donations, voter engagement events and giveaways—on community college campuses will be timed to National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week and Vote Early Day.
Community colleges participating in the Community College Commitment will also have the chance to win a on-campus concert on Vote Early Day (Oct. 29) featuring a “well-known, surprise music artist,” whose name will be announced in the coming months.
In 2020, LS&Co. partnered with Vice media on a docuseries highlighting young political voices. The company also gave paid time off to employees on Election Day to further encourage voting. In 2023, the Levi Strauss Foundation donated $2 million to organizations dedicated to protecting voting rights and strengthening civic engagement.
“At Levi Strauss & Co., we’re committed to driving a culture of civic engagement among our employees, our consumers, and in our communities, because democracy works best when every American has the opportunity to make their voice heard through their vote,” said Michelle Gass, LS&Co. CEO and president. “With the launch of the Community College Commitment, we’re proud to lead the business community’s effort to close the community college voting gap and make it easier for young voters to participate in every election.”