Republican presidential nominee John McCain visits Hanover in Jan. 2008.
Order this photo | Photo: Andy Foust, The Dartmouth Staff
As the 2008 U.S. presidential race heads into its final seven weeks, Dartmouth's student political organizations are preparing to stir up election fever on campus and throughout the Upper Valley. New Hampshire voters, of which a large number are independents, are expected to be courted heavily by both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain's campaigns. New Hampshire, which has four electoral votes, was a battleground state in the past two elections -- the state went to the Republicans in 2000 and to the Democrats in 2004. McCain won the New Hampshire Republican primary during both his 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Obama lost the state's 2008 Democratic primary to Senator Hillary Clinton by 3 percentage points.
The Dartmouth College Republicans and the Dartmouth College Democrats plan to push their respective parties' platforms and candidates in the weeks leading up to Election Day on Nov. 4. Specifically, the organizations have planned extensive get-out-the-vote campaings and arranged campus visits for representatives of the Obama and McCain campaigns.
The College Democrats, which incorporated the student group Dartmouth for Barack Obama over the summer, will continue to campaign heavily for the Obama-Biden ticket, as well as for Jeanne Shaheen, the 2008 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from New Hampshire.
"We're going to focus on energizing volunteers ÂÂÂÂÂ-- make phone calls, knock on doors, do everything we can to get out the vote outside of campus," David Imamura '10, president of the Dartmouth College Democrats, said of the group's campaign efforts. The group will hold its first campaign event of the Fall term this week, when Matthew Kennedy, former campaign manager for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Matthew Houde '91, a Democratic candidate for the New Hampshire State Senate, speak at a College Democrats event on Sept. 17.
Closer to the election, according to Imamura, the College Democrats will shift its focus from voters in Hanover to students on campus. The group will implement a real-time database to track student voter registration and party affiliation.
"We will know who everyone in each room is supporting, if they're registered to vote, and if they've voted already," Imamura said. "Within seconds, everyone canvassing will know which doors to knock on Election Day."
Similarly, the Dartmouth College Republicans will focus on increasing voter turnout and mobilizing the party's conservative base in the state, Jennifer Bandy '09, the group's president, said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"We plan to work closely with the New Hampshire Republican Party to supply information on John McCain and Sarah Palin's platform to independents, and encourage turnout among conservative voters," Bandy said. "New Hampshire will be a critical state, and we want to contribute our energy, enthusiasm, and time to this important effort."
The group plans to hold debate watch parties on campus and reach out to potential voters across the state, by phone and in person, Bandy added.
"Our efforts will be more coordinated with the state Republican Party and will be larger," Bandy said. "The College Republicans will work as one student group for the McCain–Palin ticket, [Senator John Sununu's, R-N.H.,] re–election campaign and other local Republican candidates."
Bandy added that the organization's campaign efforts will emphasize McCain's support of the troop surge in Iraq, opposition to Russia's recent military actions in Georgia and understanding of global warming fears.
Both groups will also team with Vote Clamantis, a non-partisan group that works to register Dartmouth voters, in a combined effort to increase turnout on Election Day.
"Right now, we're working with the College Democrats as far as getting out absentee information to students who are off campus," Jessica Guthrie '10, president of Vote Clamantis, said. "Wherever [students] are, we will be e-mailing them to see if they want information about filing an absentee ballot."
Vote Clamantis will also use its web site and Facebook group to motivate and inform potential voters, Guthrie said.
"We don't care who you vote for, we just want you to vote," she said. "There's a lot of information out there, and we want to make sure students get the right information."
Vote Clamantis, the College Democrats and the College Republicans will host a joint voter registration table at the Student Activities fair on Sept. 24. Vote Clamantis also plans to hold voter registration drives throughout October to ensure as many students as possible can participate at the polls.
"Our goal is to register all the people in the freshman class [who are eligible]," Guthrie said. "There's no excuse for them not being able to go and vote."
