The James and Anne Duderstadt Center
In the past, University of Michigan students who wanted to register to vote in Ann Arbor had to travel to City Hall, located half a mile from the Diag and nearly two miles from North Campus. Now, students can access voter registration and election services without leaving campus. For the 2026 midterm elections, the University…
In the past, University of Michigan students who wanted to register to vote in Ann Arbor had to travel to City Hall, located half a mile from the Diag and nearly two miles from North Campus. Now, students can access voter registration and election services without leaving campus.
For the 2026 midterm elections, the University of Michigan is hosting two voting hubs: one at the Duderstadt Gallery on North Campus and another at the University of Michigan Museum of Art on Central Campus. The Duderstadt Center’s voting hub opened during the 2022 election while the UMMA first hosted a voting hub during the 2020 election. Since then, the voting hubs have run on campus every two years for the major elections. Both locations provide voter registration, in-person assistance and nonpartisan information about the voting process.
Kathi Reister, the Arts Programming Manager at the Duderstadt Center, said that the voting hubs offer information for students about the voting process.
“I think it’s really helpful to the students because a lot of folks don’t have a lot of information about voting. I mean they know that an election is coming up, but a lot of times they don’t have that much information about the voting process. So we try to provide as much information as possible about how voting works.”
The voting hubs operate as satellite city clerk’s offices, offering full-service assistance. Students can register to vote, update their registration and cast their ballots without needing to obtain an absentee ballot. The initiative, known as U-M Votes, brings together six university groups and the city of Ann Arbor to provide students with voting resources.
One of these groups, the Creative Campus Voting Project, has been working since 2018 to promote voting on campus. Professors and students from the Stamps School of Art and Design make informational posters, oversized ballots and zines that explain the aspects of voting.
Student group Turn up Turnout collaborates on the voting hubs to increase student turnout in voting. They have an initiative called Walk to the Polls, where students can meet up with TUT reps and walk to the nearest voting hub. Besides this, they host events to give non-partisan information about the candidates, such as Dinners for Democracy, which gives presentations about the topics students care about and where those end up on the ballot.
Security is another consideration for on-campus voting hubs. When asked about security measures, Reister said that the University’s Department of Public Safety and the Ann Arbor Police Department are involved to keep students safe.
“There’s always anxiety around elections. Safety and security is something to consider. There are lots of precautions. We work with local police and campus police and a number of other folks on campus to make sure that they’re safe.”
When asked about the impact of voting hubs, Reister said that during the 2024 presidential election, the voting hubs made up a large percentage of voters in Michigan.
“During the last election, which was the presidential one two years ago, one quarter of voters in Michigan aged 18 to 24 registered on the U of M campus, so that was impressive. We had a really great turnout. It’s exciting to see this because students are really engaged. They were really excited about voting, and it was great to have so many of them show up.”
The voting hubs have more to offer than election services. When asked about what helps increase student turnout, Reister said that in previous years, there have been multiple events to make voting fun for students.
“There are a number of events to make voting more fun for students. For example, we had something special on Halloween. On opening day, we had donuts and ice cream and other days, we had food trucks. There were also giveaways with T-shirts and other swag. Generally, we try to make it as exciting as possible.”
When asked about her experience at the voting hub during the last election, Reister said she enjoyed watching everyone cheer for first time voters.
“One thing that was really fun was every time a first-time voter came in, everybody cheered, and that’s a great experience, having everybody stand up and cheer for you your first time voting.”
Both the UMMA and Duderstadt Center voting hubs will be open for early voting from October 21st to November 1st from 11am to 7pm every day, including Saturday and Sunday. Registration and absentee voting is offered on November 2nd, from 9am to 4pm. On election day, November 3rd, the hubs will be open from 7am to 8pm.
Photo Credits: Kathi Reister
Article by Amanda Piel