Bowdoin Votes volunteers help their classmates register to vote at a tabling event this fall. Photo contributed by Bowdoin Votes
Bowdoin College students are bombarded with advertisements for field hockey games, guest speakers, a cappella shows and countless other events. But a “lovingly persistent” group of volunteers have spent the fall hoping their message gets above the noise: Get to the polls on Nov. 8.
Bowdoin Votes, a nonpartisan organization consisting of more than 20 students, spreads the gospel of voting across campus through flyers, voter registration tables and walks to the polls.
“It really takes a concerted effort to avoid us in some capacity on this campus,” said senior Lucas Johnson, one of two student fellows in charge of Bowdoin Votes. “We try to make sure of that.”
While young Americans have traditionally had low turnout rates, student participation has shot up recently, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement. In 2020, 66% of eligible college students cast ballots in the presidential election, up from 52% in 2016.
Bowdoin Votes and other nonpartisan groups aimed at increasing student turnout, including All In and Maine Students Vote, have helped push that number even higher at Bowdoin, according to Johnson. He aims to help at least 85% of eligible Bowdoin students cast ballots this fall.
“The question at Bowdoin has never been about convincing people to vote — it’s almost a reflex for them,” Johnson said. “It’s more ensuring that they’re able to do so in the ways they find most comfortable.”
Different states have different deadlines for registering to vote and requesting absentee ballots, said Bowdoin Votes fellow Samira Iqbal. For young students adjusting to college life, staying on top of a midterm election schedule can be tricky.
“It’s difficult for a lot of people, especially if they’re not from Maine,” said Iqbal, who votes in her home state of New York. “There’s a level of energy and effort that you need to put in that can be a little intimidating, especially if it’s your first time voting or your first time dealing with the government.”
Bowdoin Votes volunteers help make the process as easy as possible by showing students how to request an absentee ballot from their home states or helping them register to vote in Brunswick.
College student voting has drawn criticism from some Maine politicians in the past, notably current gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage, who has long been critical of rules that allow Maine college students from out of state to vote in local elections. Yet most students make thoughtful decisions about whether to cast their ballots in the place they grew up or the home they have chosen for themselves in the Midcoast, according to Iqbal.
“There are a lot of classmates who have this very deep connection with Brunswick,” she said. “They’re like, ‘If I’m here, I’m caring about this community, and part of what that looks like is voting.’”
Bowdoin Votes volunteers, trained by the Brunswick town clerk’s office staffers, have registered hundreds of their classmates to vote during on-campus tabling events this fall, Iqbal said.
On Thursday, the team led the first of several “strolls to the polls” — group walks to Town Hall intended to make early voting as comfortable as possible. On Election Day, college vehicles will shuttle students to Brunswick Junior High School, where greeters will celebrate their decision to cast their ballots.
“It’s been great to see how interested and motivated they are to participate,” said Wendy Van Damme, associate director for public service at Bowdoin’s McKeen Center for the Common Good. “Both as volunteers and as voters who want to know the issues.”
Early voting for Brunswick residents is currently open at Town Hall, according to the town clerk’s office. Residents can register to vote in person through Election Day.
Though rounding up his fellow students is his main focus, Johnson hopes everyone will exercise their right to cast a ballot on Nov. 8.
“Those who show up get to speak up,” he said. “And those who don’t are left behind.”
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