Princeton Votes aims to register students as election day nears

With fewer than 60 days before what many young people are calling the most important election of their lives, University students spanning the political spectrum are gearing up for rallies, debates and voter registration efforts to promote awareness and activism on campus.

The presidents of the College Republicans and the College Democrats are joining forces with the USG to create Princeton Votes, a nonpartisan umbrella organization for voter registration and political activity.

P-Votes, as the group is nicknamed, draws its manpower and funding from about 25 sponsors, including the Pace Center for Community Service, the Black Student Union and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students.

"It's easier to combine forces and to coordinate it on several fronts," said co-chair Evan Baehr '05, who is running for a seat on the Princeton Borough Council this fall.

P-Votes will be present at nearly 80 events in the weeks before the New Jersey Oct. 3 registration deadline, in residential colleges, dining halls, eating clubs, ethnic organizations and fraternities and sororities, Baehr said.

The group began registering freshmen when they checked in and has so far registered 285 new voters in New Jersey.

P-Votes also has absentee ballot request forms available for all states.

Baehr also said he expected student participation in civic life to improve town-gown relations. And the act of physically going to the polls has symbolic importance, he added.

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"Election Day will be a rallying point," he explained, with shuttles running from campus to the voting site and parties planned for watching the vote returns. "It'll be a great way to get students energized."

The day will cap a month of get-out-the-vote activities beginning after the Oct. 3 deadline, which may include speakers, rallies and a concert.

The centerpiece of the activities is an effort to restore fall break to its original intent. Economics professor Burton Malkiel GS '64 conceived of the idea to give students a week off in late October so they could participate in political activity as Election Day approached.

That idea has been largely ignored in recent years, but this fall P-Votes will help students sign up to campaign in New Jersey or Pennsylvania and provide food and transportation.

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Also in the works are issue advocacy days, during which students will learn to approach lawmakers and later travel to Washington, D.C., or Trenton to lobby them.

On top of the nonpartisan efforts of P-Votes, campus groups will be rallying behind various candidates or causes.

As delegates and media descended on New York City for the Republican National Convention two weeks ago, at least 22 University students were among them, according to a tally by the College Republicans. They served as pages and volunteers at Madison Square Garden, partied at clubs each night and gathered with fellow Princetonians at a Today Show taping Sept. 1.

Students were also out in force in late July at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Cate Edwards '04, daughter of vice-presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, spoke at delegate breakfasts by day and made appearances at the hottest parties in town by night. She brought three of her closest friends, Catesby Perrin '04, Marlo McGriff '04 and Chris McKallagat '04, along for the ride.

Most nights, the four friends watched the convention from the Edwards family's suite in the FleetCenter.

But the Wednesday of the convention was Cate Edwards' big night, when she took the stage before a sea of Kerry/Edwards signs and millions of TV viewers to introduce her mother, Elizabeth.

Several of Edwards' other classmates were in Boston in less visible roles. At least a dozen Princeton students signed up as volunteers.

For some, that meant never getting close to the convention. They were stationed in the lobbies of hotels, directing people to shuttles or restaurants. Others worked as on-site support staff, distributing press releases or checking ID badges in the halls.

Some drove VIPs around or helped those needing extra assistance, and a few worked for the press as junior reporters or interns.

Regardless of their role, however, students returned to campus riding a wave of enthusiasm.

"Being in Boston was an amazing experience for me," said Kate Reilly '05, who reported for The Nation and is a 'Prince' columnist. "As a die-hard Democrat, it was inspiring to watch so many people come together to believe in common goals and ideals."