As the College Democrats and Republicans gear up for November's presidential election, one activity will be conspicuously absent from their efforts, at least if current University regulations stand. Under a policy that is now under review, the two Princeton groups — unlike their fellow chapters at many other institutions — are restricted from registering people to vote.
As a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, the University is prohibited by federal law from engaging in partisan activities.
This regulation is interpreted differently at schools across the nation, and at Princeton it includes partisan voter registration drives — even by student groups.
College Democrats President Jay Saxon '05 lashed out at the policy, calling it an abridgment of students' constitutional rights.
"It is nothing more than pitiful that the University chooses to exercise its power in order to suppress students' democratic voices and limit the most fundamental right that free citizens have in a democracy — the right to vote," he said in an email.
But Thomas Dunne, assistant dean of undergraduate students, defended the University as simply constrained by the law.
"We have a commitment to take a stance that we feel is equally responsible to our tax-exempt status and that gives students a chance to engage in the political process," he said.
Other schools
Dunne is currently working with the University counsel to reexamine and possibly amend the policy governing political activity on campus — which includes voter registration, fundraising and inviting candidates to speak — in time for next fall.
The first step has been to compare the Princeton's policies to those of other schools, and, Dunne said, "Our initial findings have been that a number of our peer institutions are far more conservative in this arena than we are."
But voter registration is permitted and indeed a central activity for many partisan student groups at other universities.
Thea van der Zalm '04, who coordinates the College Democrats of America's national voter registration drives, called it "one of the best ways we have of stirring up interest on college campuses and getting students interested in the issues and the campaigns."
Dozens of schools participate in the coordinated drives, which regularly register hundreds of students across the country.
Officials from Harvard and Rutgers Universities confirmed that partisan student groups are allowed to conduct voter registration drives on campus.
"We want students to register and to vote, and whoever gets them interested in registering to vote, we encourage that," said Judith Kidd, associate dean for student groups at Harvard.
The question of violating the university's not-for-profit status has never been a consideration, Kidd said, but added she would raise the issue with the general counsel's office.
Gary Cocca '05, president of the Rutgers College Republicans and director of communications for the New Jersey College Republicans, said that he had never heard of a policy like Princeton's.
Cocca predicted that voter registration efforts this fall, at Rutgers and colleges across the state, will be more intense than in previous years as the nation prepares for an extremely tight election.
The 18-to-24 age group has traditionally registered and voted at a much lower rate than older age groups, and Cocca said increasing turnout is an important way to bring politicians' attention to issues important to students.
"Any school that denies voter registration on campus on a partisan basis is really hurting themselves," he said. "If people don't vote, their voice isn't heard."
Yale reconsiders
Meanwhile, Yale University, which currently allows partisan voter registration, is revisiting its own policy regarding political activity.
"It's been on our radar screen for the past year now," said Edgar Ortiz, assistant dean and director of undergraduate organizations at Yale.
Yale has formed a working group to examine the "larger context of what activities might be deemed in violation of the not-for-profit status," Ortiz said, adding that voter registration was among those issues.
The new guidelines will be set by next fall.
"It's of growing concern among a number of universities," Ortiz said. "It might or might not be considered in violation of the law, and we first have to inform ourselves of what the legal implications might be. We don't want to unduly restrict student activity."
The potential change in policy was news to Nirupam Sinha '05, president of the Yale College Democrats, who said that voter registration — both on campus and in the New Haven community — is a major activity of his group.
"It's important especially on campus because there are no other groups that would do it," he said.
Patrick Chung '06, chair of Yale Students for Bush, added that while students can register using forms they receive during freshman orientation week, voter registration is widely recognized as a role of partisan student groups.
"People look to [us] to do that," he said. "Otherwise no one would register, because they wouldn't know where to go."
'Ineffectual' drive
Unless Princeton changes its policy, the only voter registration this fall will have to occur under the auspices of a nonpartisan group.
A USG committee recently contacted the College Democrats and Republicans about the possibility of conducting a joint drive, and the groups are currently in discussion.
But College Republicans President Evan Baehr '05 said such an effort would likely be "ineffectual."
"They'll get a table, put some red, white and blue balloons up and have forms," he said. "What we need is an organized and systematic campus canvass – knocking on doors and using the manpower of student groups to reach out."
To Baehr, a ban on partisan voter registration will undoubtedly decrease political enthusiasm on campus.
"Telling the College Republicans that they can only do nonpartisan voter registration is telling us to ignore the exact cause about which we're passionate," he said. "We're interested in promoting civic participation, but the reason we are the College Republicans is because we believe in being a Republican."
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