Partner Snapshot: MitzVote

Through its MitzVote campaign, Hillel International, the world's largest and most inclusive Jewish campus organization, empowers students nationwide with education and tools to fully engage in the democratic process.

Now utilizing Motivote for its second presidential election cycle, MitzVote is on a mission to help college students overcome barriers to voting while promoting broader civic engagement and interfaith collaboration.

View Dashboard Walkthrough

Program Goals

In 2018, Hillel International launched its MitzVote campaign in response to the unique barriers college students face in participating in elections.


MitzVote aims to empower students with education and tools to fully engage in the democratic process. Over time, the mission broadened to also promote civic engagement, civic education, and interfaith collaboration.


Looking ahead to 2024, Hillel is committed to equipping future Jewish leaders with strategies to combat toxic polarization through ongoing investment in bridge-building and civic engagement efforts. 


The MitzVote campaign is driven by goals including:

  • Empowering students to participate in democratic processes
  • Promoting free and fair elections and involvement in the voting process
  • Reducing barriers specific to student voting, like inaccessible polling places and complex voter registration processes across various states


Hillel first partnered with Motivote in 2020, the first presidential election cycle since the launch of the MitzVote program. They are excited to expand the initiative for 2024 to help achieve these goals. 

"With the hectic lives of college students, they can easily forget to create a voting plan for themselves. But with Motivote, they are able to focus on performing their civic duty in a fun and engaging way."


- Rutgers Hillel Staff Member

Digital Resource


Hillel decided to engage Motivote as its digital partner for the 2024 General Elections because it's an "ideal tool for informing and energizing both students and staff," says Associate Director of Social Impact Anna Worrell.


For Hillel, the main benefits of Motivote are:


  • Streamlined, one-stop-shop for voting plans and ballot education


  • Ability to integrate their own programs and opportunities


  • Valuable data on voter registration and student engagement


  • Flexibility for individual campus to add custom content and prizes


  • Hands-on support and access to useful civic engagement resources


Branded Digital Portal


By offering a nonpartisan digital resource, Hillel can promote participation in the civic process and reduce barriers specific to student voting.


"MitzVote Powered By Hillel" is a web-based tool (nothing to download) rolled out to Hillel staff members, who in turn promote the resource to their students and campus communities.


Motivote’s election actions and reminders provide:


  • Simple, linear steps and progress trackers to make sense of the process and reduce confusion about logistics


  • Personalized voting plans for where and when to vote — with polling place, ballot guides and Voter ID in one place


  • Timely email and SMS “nudges” to avoid missed deadlines and keep the plan top-of-mind, including a reminder the day before it’s time to vote


Action steps include checking registration status, reviewing a nonpartisan ballot guide, and making a plan — a strategy proven to increase turnout.


Participants can also complete MitzVote-specific actions, like joining campus events, signing up as poll workers, and promoting MitzVote on social media.

Check Registration Widget


Hillel also features Motivote's embeddable widgets on its main website. They allow visitors to look up their next election, check their registration and view important deadlines, with an optional direct to the branded web portal. This provides a lower-lift way for website visitors who aren't part of campus Hillel communities to engage and get actionable information.

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Structure


National Network of Teams 🤝



MitzVote uses Motivote's unique "Teams' structure to organize their nationwide programming and create friendly competition among campuses.


Each of the 75+ participating Hillels gets a team page on Motivote with its own logo, invite link and QR code for simple promotion. Participants can also create teams within their campus pages, further engaging student groups and class cohorts.

Gamification & Rewards 🏆


MitzVote is also celebrating users with real-life rewards to excite students and encourage participation. "My students at Rutgers Hillel love using the Motivote platform, as collecting points brings out their competitive side!" says one New Jersey staff member.


Users can 'cash in' the points they earn for making voting plans and other voting readiness tasks for prizes like Amazon gift cards. Top-performing chapters also get a stipend to spend on supplies for an Election Day party, creating an incentive for group participation.


Individual Hillels can also add their own, campus-specific prizes to further personalized the experience. For example, the Minnesota Hillel is giving away branded swag, gift cards to local business, and the chance to restock the Hillel's chocolate drawer!

Civic Engagement Actions 🌎

In addition to leveraging Motivote's built-in election actions, the MitzVote team created a set of Hillel-specific actions using the Custom Actions feature.


Custom Actions create opportunities for civic learning that goes beyond getting ready to vote, and they also connect Motivote to Hillel's broader programming goals.


Participants can complete Custom Actions including participating in Hillel events, signing up to be a poll worker, and writing letters of thanks to election workers. They range from the quick and easy ("find your state's registration deadline") to more involved ("complete a misinformation training," "participate in a Mitzvote Shabbat.")


By inviting students to submit short reflections about their experiences, the Hillel team also gains valuable data about community engagement.

 The visual appeal alone makes it so students want to explore the site more and I can easily inform them about civic engagement while teaching how to get points to win prizes. People love prizes!"



- Hillel of Buffalo Staff Member


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