Confluence: Engaging Students and Community Partners in St. Louis

Project Objective

This project features four initiatives to increase participation and build trust in elections in the St. Louis region, with particular focus on student voting, utilizing best practices, but also casting a wider net at engaging those in the surrounding communities. 

Voting booths

Media Coverage

Forbes: Campus Collaboration With Local Election Officials Can Be Very Rewarding

"Making connections with the local community is one way to promote and improve civic engagement on campus," wrote David Kimball and Anita Manion "For the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), this looked like building a relationship with our local election official."

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Project Leaders

David C. Kimball

University of Missouri-St. Louis
David Kimball

Kimball studies elections and interest group lobbying in the United States. His election research examines election administration and the impact of election laws and institutions on voters. His interest group research examines the impact of lobbying on public policy and the political agenda. He has worked with the Brennan Center for Justice on a series of reports promoting better designed ballots and other election materials. He has served as an expert witness in several court cases involving voting rights. He worked with FairVote to produce a report for the Justice Department on the use of cumulative voting in Port Chester, New York. Finally, Kimball helped draw new district boundaries for the St. Louis County Council in 2012.

Anita Manion

University of Missouri-St. Louis
Manion Headshot

Manion's research focuses on education and election policy. Overarching themes in Manion's writings include the impact of public policy on equity and access. Manion serves as the Political Analyst for KSDK News (an NBC affiliate).