P-Votes, a bipartisan, student-run organization founded in 2004 to get more Princetonians to the polls, has broadened its voter registration campaign to include all 50 states, not just New Jersey.
The move represents a shift for the group, which previously focused on registering students to vote in New Jersey elections. P-Votes co-chairs Kris Ekdahl '07 and Evan Magruder '08 said they wanted to give students the choice of voting at home, too.
Last year, "we were encouraging students to engage in New Jersey politics, since they're going to be here for four years," Ekdahl said. "But as an officer corps this year, we wanted to get people more involved in politics in general, and we thought that any civil engagement in general is good, regardless of whether it's in New Jersey or at home."
The organization now has registration forms for all 50 states and absentee ballot request forms from most states. It can also send off the forms and complete the process for students.
P-Votes was started by Evan Baehr '05 and Frances Schendle '06 in the fall of 2004, shortly before the presidential election. Magruder said that the flurry of interest in voting that year made registering absentee students in their various home states too challenging.
"It's logistically more feasible when there are a lot of people who won't register to vote," Magruder said. "It's a sad fact when you think about it."
This year, which boasts important midterm elections in numerous states but no presidential race, was the right time to expand nationwide, they said.
"With so much at stake in the House and in the Senate, it made sense to give students the chance to vote at home, because their votes at home might be much more valuable than voting in New Jersey," Ekdahl said.
The numbers so far are higher than at this time last year. All told, 352 students have registered to vote this year — 158 in New Jersey and 194 elsewhere. Last year, the overall total was 315 students.
Magruder said that some of the students who registered to vote at home probably would have registered to vote in New Jersey anyway, but that the new choice is responsible for the overall increase.
"I think we have cannibalized the New Jersey numbers a bit, but I don't think either Evan or Sarah or I see that as a problem," he added.
Whether P-Votes can continue this strategy through the off-year of 2007 and the inevitably hectic election cycle of 2008 remains to be seen.
"We anticipate being able to do so, and we really want to," Magruder said. "This is something I really value. I think this is the single most important thing we can do as a voter registration organization: not limit their choice."
Matt Westmoreland '10, who registered at home in Georgia soon after his 18th birthday last summer, said that P-Votes was "very visible" at the fall activities fair last week.
Westmoreland said he was glad that the organization allowed students to vote in their home states.
"I assume that since I'll be living here for four years, I'll become more aware [of New Jersey politics], but it's equally if not more important to me to stay involved with politics back home," he said. "Because our population is from so many different states, it's good that they are covering all of us."
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