Voters Wear T-Shirts, Too

With Election Day less than a month away, the ongoing effort to turn out the vote—particularly in the coveted, and highly contested, swing states—moves into high gear. Independent groups and community organizations have mobilized their troops of ambitious civil soldiers, and all eyes are focused on Nov. 2. A central component in this crusade to enfranchise the chronically apathetic is the concerted effort to tap the ever-elusive, yet ever-important, youth vote. Today, the students of Winthrop House—in partnership with students at Penn State—join this effort as they encourage youth voters in a new campaign with the motto “I Decide.”

T-shirts bearing the slogan “I Decide” and “November 2” on the front and back, respectively, will be dispensed to Winthropians this afternoon in hopes that they will wear them on campus, reminding students of their individual importance in the political process. The project is meant to motivate swing state students to assert their voice in an election where their votes have the potential to profoundly affect the outcome. And, as Harvard students indeed hail from all over the country, including some of the most influential states in the Electoral College, the importance of this project is clear. Less than a month away, the election still hangs in the balance—and every vote counts.

“I Decide,” however, has the potential to go beyond the halls of Harvard. According to the project’s press release, “the goal…is not only to empower youth voters at Harvard, but to set up alliances between the Houses at Harvard and other ‘partner’ schools in the swing states where votes will count more this election.” Winthrop House is the first to take an active role in this partnership project, raising funds to ship 500 “I Decide” shirts to Penn State students—yet we hope it is not the last. Project coordinators hope to create a much broader coalition with state colleges—Florida State and Ohio State topping the list—under the umbrella of the “I Decide” slogan. If each House takes part, the project has the potential to have a real effect on the upcoming election.

But while the project’s focus is on those from the likes of Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio, it is not only swing-state students who stand to benefit from the “I Decide” reminders. Students from Massachusetts, California or New York—states whose electoral votes are hardly contested—also need to be encouraged and reminded to vote in their respective elections. Too often, students wash their hands of an election before it comes to pass, as they assume their vote “doesn’t count” if they hail from an uncontested state. Without voting, these students surrender their voice on important, often controversial, statewide initiatives.

The most recent tally by the National Conference of State Legislatures says that 59 initiatives will appear on state ballots this year. Many of these issues concern fundamentally important issues such as same-sex marriage bans, drug policy reform and changes in funding for education and health care. With such highly contested issues appearing on state ballots, it’s likely that—if encouraged and reminded by projects such as “I Decide”—more students will assert their civic duty this election.

Since the start of the school year, many student organizations have made diligent efforts to encourage student voters. The Institute of Politics has succeeded in registering hundreds of student voters, as well as helping ensure that any interested student has access to information about absentee ballots. “I Decide” is yet another admirable project to continue these efforts to enfranchise youth voters. In an election often cited as the most crucial race in recent history, any effort to boost voter turnout ought to be lauded.