Students choose home over Yale on Election Day

When it comes to voting, home is truly where the heart is for most Yalies.

About 1,200 Yalies--less than a quarter of all undergraduates--are registered to vote in the city of New Haven. Most of the rest are registered in their home states, but less than half actually request absentee ballots each year.

Jeremy Marwell, MC '99, has considered registering in New Haven during his three years here, but has instead maintained his registration in Westchester County, N.Y. "The main reason I'm registered at home is to vote on school budgets," Marwell said. "[Voting in New Haven] is something I'm thinking about more now as I get further away from my district. There's definitely a question as to where my community is."

Ordering an absentee ballot, and remembering to mail it on time, is a challenge for oft-preoccupied Elis. Once the ballot is received and filled out, it must be signed in the presence of a public notary. Simply going to Dwight Hall, the polling place for most of Yale, on Election Day and filling out a ballot is clearly more convenient. But many students still choose to vote absentee because they are more aware of political issues in their hometowns than in New Haven. Caleb Weaver, SM '01, is registered in St. Louis, Mo., and has ordered an absentee ballot. "Being a student is a little too transient to really understand the issues [in New Haven], and unless you plan on moving to New Haven, it seems a little unfair to vote when you don't have a full idea of what's going on," he said.

Most of the Yale campus falls within Ward One. Texas native Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, is the latest in a long line of Yalies to serve as Ward One Alder.

But few students follow local politics the way Gonzalez does. Yale historian Gaddis Smith, PC '54, GRD '61, noted, "Where a student votes is a matter of individual choice. Students are lucky because they are one of few kinds of people who have the choice."

Many students base their decision about where to vote on specific candidates or issues rather than on where they spend most of their time. Bostonian Nick Szydlowski, CC '02, said, "I'm registered [in New Haven] because the Democrats always win in Boston, no matter what anyone does, and because I couldn't quite figure out how to get an absentee ballot." According to Gonzalez, "Students from more [politically] competitive states like New York, Texas, and California are more likely to register at home because they might feel that their votes have more of an impact."

Political undergraduate organizations, such as the Yale College Democrats and Yale College Republicans, conduct drives to register freshmen in New Haven. As College Democrats President Josh Kagan, SM '00, explained, "It's much easier for a student to register here and vote here than at home, because they don't have to deal with ordering an absentee ballot. It makes sense too. This is our home 30 weeks out of the year for four years, and perhaps longer."

In addition, both the College Democrats and the College Republicans make efforts to inform students about candidates and their platforms. "On Election Day we will be at the polls passing out literature and campaigning for the candidates we support," College Republicans President Julie Simmons, MC '00, said.

According to the Hall of Records' registration list, most of the Yale students registered list their place of residence as a freshman dorm. That the students neglect to change their listed residence when they move into the residential colleges implies that most upperclassmen have not voted since their freshman year.

Many students in the Class of 2000, who were freshmen in 1996, registered in New Haven to vote in the presidential election that year. Ryan Karels, BR '00, who is still registered in Elm City, explained, "I have not voted since my freshman year because, outside of that election year, I have not been at all informed about candidates and issues enough to make an educated vote. I'm not into crowd voting."

Still, Kagan believes making informed decisions at the New Haven polls is always possible. "I think that both the [Yale Daily] News and the Herald provide excellent coverage of New Haven issues," Kagan said. "Registering here goes beyond convenience. Voting in New Haven makes Yalies more connected to the community. Students at Yale should be focusing on the decisions our government makes."

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