IOP Voter Drive Debuts at First-Years' Registration

For the first time in College history, first-years were allowed to register to vote and request absentee ballots while they formally registered as Harvard students.

Members of the Institute of Politics' (IOP) nonpartisan Community Action Committee organized the efforts to provide first-years the chance to vote in the upcoming election. First-years were encouraged to register and request ballots, though the process was voluntary.

"[First-year] students were thrilled to think that they could still vote [while at college]," said Heather A. Woodruff '03, who organized the effort along with E. Clarke Tucker '03. "We got nothing but positive feedback."

The effort to get first-year students to vote was two-pronged. The Registrar's office provided national voter registration forms for unregistered students or those who wished to re-register in Cambridge.

Already registered students were also given the chance to request absentee ballots.

The IOP put 15 rented computers on the first floor of Robinson Hall for students to make these requests online at voter.com. First-years provided the required information and IOP members printed the forms, addressed the envelopes and mailed them.

The procedure for absentee ballot requests varies from state to state, preventing volunteers from offering a single form.

Demand for absentee ballots exceeded expectations, creating long lines that deterred some students.

The IOP has made efforts in previous years to get first-years to vote, primarily by going door to door in Yard dorms. But with students in and out of their rooms, they were unable to reach all first-years, unlike at yesterday's mandatory registration.

The IOP had asked for a slot at first-year registration in past years, said Hannah Choi '01, the chair of the IOP's Student Advisory Committee. But in previous years the Registrar's office had denied the request.

Choi said she though that the Registrar's office changed its policy this year as a result of a newly-passed federal law which requires universities to make a "good faith effort" to provide voter registration forms to students.

The Registrar's office also updated its website last spring with a link to voter registration forms. The link has also been added to the College's website.

"It's great that Harvard is finally letting us do this," Choi said.

Choi said the College should still do more to make voter registration available to students. The law lets universities decide what constitutes a "good faith effort."

No similar drive will be held at upperclass registration on Friday. But the IOP will be tabling in Houses before the election encouraging students to register and request absentee ballots.

The IOP will also be holding get-out-the-vote activities to encourage all students to actually return their completed absentee ballots or go to the polls on election day.

The IOP's original plans to allow students to drop off their completed absentee ballots at a central location was nixed when the IOP discovered this would be illegal, Choi said.

The IOP plans to continue its presence at first-year registration next year and will also try to expand voter registration efforts to Harvard's graduate schools.

"In four years we hope every [undergraduate] will have had a chance to register," said Trevor D. Dryer '00-'02, the chair of the Community Action Committee.