Despite the University’s political history and traditions of activism, when it comes to the all-American tradition of voting, the levels of student involvement can be surprising. According to Betti Packman ’07, who has been the president of the Wesleyan Democrats (WesDems) for four years, there were 50 students who were registered to vote locally in Connecticut last year.
“But on voting day, not one person … used our shuttle service to get to the polling center,” Packman said.
While WesDems are taking steps this year to increase student political awareness and activity, political involvement on campus remains mixed.
According to College Republicans president Eugene Wong ’09, his organization has not made a huge effort to encourage student voting this year.
“The College Republicans have decided not to do voter registration this year due to the fact that we are lacking in both resources and manpower,” he said. “Many of our members have outside commitments, like fall sports and other activities so it’s understandable that they are unable to give their time to register voters.”
Still, Wong recognized the significance of this election year, and said the group is making efforts to help the Republican cause in other ways.
“We’ve focused our time and efforts into areas aside from voter registration,” Wong said. “For instance, we are planning to phone bank sometime soon and remind people to vote on election day.”
Phone banking involves calling registered republicans and independents and reminding them to vote. The group will be targeting residents in Middletown and surrounding areas.
To increase voting awareness and encourage students to the polling center this year, Packman has asked the College Republicans to join the WesDems in hosting an election party outside of Olin Library on Election Day.
Packman plans to decorate the front lawn of the library in red, white, and blue and supply free food, live music, and some improvisational comedy. The party will take place from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, November 7th.
Wong strongly supports the idea of an Election Day celebration that welcomes people of all parties.
“The event on Election Day is going to be a bipartisan effort,” Wong said. “It’s not a partisan or biased event by any means; we’re not trying to advocate voting for one side or the other. It’s a collective effort by both the WesDems and the College Republicans and is meant to be a social gathering more than an event with a political agenda.”
Members of WesDems will also be stationed in front of MoCon, Summerfields, and Davenport at various times of the day weeks before the election, offering students the chance to register to vote in Connecticut.
Renae Widdison ’10, who normally would have been registered in Wyoming, decided to register in Connecticut.
“First of all, it [Connecticut] is a really interesting place. Politically there is a lot going on and it is a site of much debate right now….The state I would be registered to vote in is Wyoming which is the reddest state. Not only would I not make much of a difference if I voted there, but I don’t know anything about their politics,” Widdison said.
The organization, however, only registers students to vote in Connecticut, and it has not taken any steps to actively promote absentee registration for students to vote in their home states. According to Packman, it would be too difficult to supply students with all of the different forms that come with each state.
Evan O’Loughlin ’08 found that obtaining an absentee ballot from his home state was not a difficult task.
“I just went on the Internet, found the forms, printed them, filled them out, and mailed them to Colorado. Then they sent me the voting ballot, which all I had to was fill out and send it back to them. It was pretty easy,” he said.
According to Packman, students should not worry that registering in Connecticut is permanent; they can still switch back to their home state if they so desire.
Eugenie Carabatsos ’10, from New York, acknowledges the option but has still chosen to vote in her home state, New York.
“I knew that I wouldn’t be stuck voting in Connecticut if I registered here, but when I was home for October break I decided to fill out an absentee ballot because I know more about the politics there than I do about those here,” Carabatsos said.
According to Packman WesDems have registered 150 students this year, a marked increase from last year. She stressed that a high number of Democratic challenges to incumbent Republican seats have a good chance of winning if enough people vote.
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