Preparing for Election Season
Strategies for Campus Leaders
The 2026 midterm elections will bring renewed attention to federal, state, and local contests, as well as the issues shaping public life. Campus leaders cannot anticipate every situation that may arise, but preparing early can help institutions respond consistently, support constructive engagement, and reinforce their commitments to inquiry, dialogue, and free expression.
As the November 3 election approaches, campus leaders may encounter:
Heightened disagreement about candidates and public issues. Election-related debates can quickly enter classrooms, residence halls, student organizations, and other campus spaces. Leaders can prepare faculty and staff to support substantive engagement across differences.
More political activity on campus. Candidate appearances, political speakers, voter engagement efforts, demonstrations, and counterdemonstrations can create opportunities for civic learning while also testing institutional policies and response procedures.
Greater scrutiny of institutional decisions. Students, faculty, alumni, donors, and external audiences may interpret university communications, programming, or policy enforcement as favoring a particular political perspective. Clear standards and consistent implementation can help institutions maintain trust.
Pressure to issue institutional statements. Campus leaders may be asked to respond to campaign activity, election-related developments, or the results themselves. Establishing a clear statement policy in advance can help leaders make principled and consistent decisions.
"Culture is something you can design, and you design it with your decisions."
Gaping Void, a cultural design group
Evaluate your language
The language you use and how you frame your communication and programming can inadvertently reveal your ideology. Common use words and phrases, like “safe space” and “harm,” may seem nonpartisan, but not everyone defines them the same way or ideologically neutral. When one of these terms comes up in a conversation, take the opportunity to clarify what the term means and what it does not mean.
Facilitate conversations with stakeholders and community members to develop a common understanding of the terms you all use. Take the time to establish and socialize common definitions among your stakeholders. Expect there to be multiple definitions and emphasize the divergence among them. Include definitions in messaging and communication activities. Repeat the definitions or reintroduce them when new stakeholders are engaged. Try to notice words that alienate groups, and work with them to understand why and to find alternatives that welcome participation.
Consulting a few cabinet members or a third-party can help identify words in your communication that might unintentionally suggest taking sides, particularly when emotions are heightened.
Walk the talk
Encourage thoughtful and respectful exchange by endorsing and modeling constructive dialogue. Acknowledge that talking about polarizing issues can be difficult, uncomfortable, and time consuming. Make it explicit that you believe it to be important.
Constructive dialogue will help strengthen these aspects of campus culture::
- Free expression
- Open inquiry
- Critical thinking
- Engagement across differences
- Collaboration and decision-making
- Trust building
- Campus culture
- Student preparedness for civic participation
Conduct a thorough policy audit
Campus tensions in recent years exposed gaps and inconsistencies in existing campus policies related to speech and demonstrations. Institutions should regularly review and revise these policies to ensure they are fair and transparent and that they uphold the community’s values.
Start with your physical environment. Examine speaker- and event-oriented policies. Revisit your posting policy. At public institutions, the First Amendment requires that time, place, and manner rules be content neutral, narrowly tailored to a significant interest, and leave open ample alternative channels for expression. Private institutions are generally not bound by the First Amendment, but many have committed to its principles and some are subject to state laws that impose similar obligations. Either way, legal counsel should review revisions before adoption. Consider who has awareness of these policies, where they are housed, and how and when they were last disseminated.
Using scenarios that your campus community would recognize can provide clarity and help make policies feel relevant to your unique context. Communicating and applying policies consistently can strengthen institutional trust and reduce confusion during difficult moments.
Review these policies and determine if clarifications or revisions are needed:
What kinds of speakers are allowed on campus? Who has the right to invite them? Where are they able to speak? What are the related security considerations?
Engage proactively with campus hot-spots
Most conflicts are too nuanced and contextual to be settled by policy alone. Thus, policies need to be complemented by shared norms, common values, and a network of trust.
Conduct proactive outreach among campus stakeholders, especially those who have experienced previous flare-ups or who represent the perspectives of specific community groups. These relationships build a foundation of trust that will help you navigate any misunderstandings more effectively. As the election unfolds, recognize and reward constructive engagement among your campus communities.
Case Study for Disseminating Policies
University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado formed its Bears Vote Coalition in fall 2023 to coordinate voter and civic engagement across campus. The coalition is co-chaired by the dean of student development and the assistant vice president of administration. It brings students, staff, and a representative of the Weld County Elections Office together in two groups: an engagement team and a logistics team. Among its stated goals is to "increase non-partisan civic education, voter education, and political discourse programming and initiatives."
The coalition's design treats political discourse as part of the same work as voting access. Its 2024 action plan paired a website and communications plan with a review of campus policies on voting access, speech rights, protest, campaigning, and political speakers. To build awareness beyond student affairs, one co-chair met monthly with the associate deans of every academic college.
Coordinate cross-campus efforts
The desire to achieve a Voter Friendly Campus designation provided the University of Northern Colorado the opportunity to coordinate efforts that had previously been more decentralized across departments like campus police, student life, student affairs, library services, and athletics. The Bears Votes California coalition is responsible for ensuring that voter engagement efforts are nonpartisan, legally compliant, coordinated, and promoted throughout the institution and that they are in strategic alignment with student learning outcomes.
By mobilizing this cross-functional team, organized by engagement and logistics, the cochairs can maximize their capacity and tap into a wider knowledge base. Efforts like these can help to bridge the organizational barriers that separate student affairs and faculty–two critical vehicles for reaching students.
Nurture connections with partners and peers
Established relationships built on trust can serve as a shield during times of crisis. Individuals and groups with whom you have a history are more inclined to offer support when you need it most. They can help to de-escalate within their spheres of influence. Moreover, those with whom you have forged strong relationships are likely to question inconsistent narratives. These connections lay the foundation for resilient communities.
On campus, cultivate relationships between student life and faculty and among student leaders across various organizations. Off campus, it is beneficial to build relationships with government officials and to provide periodic updates to donors and trustees outside of formal meetings. When disruption occurs, reassure your stakeholders or find out what they need with proactive outreach. Lastly, establish a relationship with a crisis communication advisor before the need arises.
"The language really matters. A lot of campuses, post-election and even this fall, brought students in a room with different political views and then started off by saying, ‘This is a safe space for everybody.’ When you use those words, you just silenced every conservative kid in the room. We have to make sure the language we use actually does invite political conversation."
President
Support your staff
Faculty and staff may feel uncertain about how to navigate contentious topics, institutional policies, and public scrutiny during election season. Leaders can support them by clearly communicating applicable policies and legal considerations, while recognizing that policies alone do not equip people to lead difficult conversations.
Provide opportunities for your staff and faculty to obtain advanced training in handling difficult conversations. Finally, staff and faculty will benefit from the support of their peers in similar positions. Create forums within staff meetings for their direct reports to offer mutual support. Capitalize on the networks of larger systems like the University of California, where comparable roles span multiple schools, to build relationships across campuses.
Engage in co-curricular spaces
Informal settings, like meet-ups at coffee and snack stations, offer students easy access and the opportunity to practice exchanges in a nonthreatening setting. Student government and residence life are two natural pathways for creative or casual leadership touchpoints.
Join a visible coalition of peers
A leadership cohort can offer valuable support, generate ideas, provide opportunities for advocacy, or serve as a sounding board. There might be instances where you require backup, and having access to a peer network can help you navigate external pressures.
Many states have organizations that promote collective voices, such as the Independent Colleges of Indiana or the Council of Presidents of Virginia Colleges and Public Universities. Consider establishing your own coalition, noting that visible groups foster greater trust than clandestine memberships.
Invest in advanced professional development
The dynamic terrain of leadership roles in higher education is characterized by myriad factors: political and societal pressures, financial constraints, public expectations, accountability measures, campus dynamics, and the constant call for innovation. These pressures underscore the complex environment in which today’s higher education leaders function, demanding that leaders adeptly navigate through a multitude of challenges while meeting the evolving needs of institutions and stakeholders.
Learn to recognize the difference between what you want for your institution and what your institution’s systems are actually doing and reconcile the two. What work is happening to build an inclusive culture of free expression? No matter how prepared you feel, campus conflict is inevitable. Obtain training to anticipate and manage these situations as they arrive. Get experience building advanced communication strategies to de-escalate tension and empathize with stakeholder concerns, even under pressure.
Communicate Your Institutional Commitments
Establish a communications strategy that clearly explains your institution’s commitments to inquiry, dialogue, and free expression. Some of the best examples we observed connected those commitments to the campus’ central mission statement.
Identify the central messages that should remain consistent across audiences while considering what different stakeholders need to know. Highlight students, faculty, staff, and campus organizations that are contributing to constructive engagement across differences.
Involve your communications team in both preparation and response. Their expertise can help leaders anticipate how messages may be interpreted, communicate decisions clearly, and maintain consistency across the institution.
Establish and promote a strategy for making statements
Under what circumstance will the university issue a statement? This should be considered well in advance of the election, and the guidelines should be disseminated widely.
Once the policy is published, apply it consistently and explain how individual decisions align with it.
“Think about who should speak on behalf of the university and under what conditions. It took us a year and a half to develop, but we have a policy now. I don’t just speak and issue these statements. I talk to the board about it and we have to have a compelling reason why it affects us. Did it affect our students? There has to be that reason and then we tend to circulate that and we would then post it. We decided that only the president or the board of trustees chair speaks on behalf of the university.”
President
CDI partners with campus leaders to strengthen the systems, relationships, and skills that support inquiry, dialogue, and free expression. Explore how we can help your institution prepare for difficult moments and build lasting capacity across campus.