What Motivates Social Work Undergraduate Students to Vote? A Mixed-Methods Study

This mixed-methods study examined social work students’ motivations to vote. We conducted surveys and focus-group interviews at a university in the Southeast United States before the 2022 election. Focus-group interviews (N=20) revealed five motivators: personal political agency, endorsement of voting norms, positive voting experiences, informed decision making, and personal connections to relevant issues. Surveys (N=143) revealed that (a) knowledge about the candidates was the top (84.62%) motivator for participants; (b) motivation to vote varied across office types, with students most motivated to vote for governor (average score = 8.57); (c) candidate quality that resonated most was alignment on key issues (93.71%); and (d) there was a significant relationship between participants’ perception of their friends’ voting likelihood and their own likelihood to vote (p=.002). This study contributes to the literature by including diverse samples, primarily composed of minority students. Focus-group participants were 45% African American and 40% Latinx, while survey participants were 31.47% African American and 48.95% Latinx. Our findings offer insights for educators on how to engage students better in both personal and professional voting participation.