In preparation for the 2024 general election on Nov. 5, Dartmouth Votes — a coalition made up of the College’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Dartmouth Civics, Dartmouth Student Government and the Town of Hanover — is mobilizing students to register to vote through registration drives and informational sessions.
Facilitated by the Office of Student Life, the Dartmouth Votes Coalition “synthesizes” voting registration efforts through its member organizations, according to NAACP at Dartmouth president Jared Pugh ’25. NAACP and Dartmouth Civics have also collaborated with the Programming Board and the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy to host the drives and sessions, he added.
“When it comes to large events and large moments in our nation — like the 2024 presidential election — we try and do as much coverage and programming around those types of issues or phenomena [as possible],” Pugh said.
So far, the coalition has hosted tabling sessions, registration drives and informational events since the start of the fall term, according to Dartmouth Civics board member and voter registration drive coordinator Bella Neireiter ’27. Dartmouth Civics, Programming Board and the Rockefeller Center began the term by hosting Vote-A-Palooza, a voter registration and informational drive, on Sept. 20, according to Neireiter. Neireiter said the event provided an opportunity for students to learn about registering to vote and the election at large by talking to Dartmouth Civics members. She added that 125 people registered to vote at the event, which was “super successful.”
“We just really want to get as many Dartmouth students as possible voting and engaging [in] politics on all levels of government, and whether that means voting in your home state, voting absentee or voting here in Hanover,” Neireiter said.
According to Pugh, the College’s chapter of the NAACP and the Theta Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. hosted a table at Vote-A-Palooza and “not only offered general information about voting but also about the development of voting rights from the 18th century to today.”
“I … want[ed] people to walk away from attending our events thinking about what it means to vote and engaging with this upcoming election,” Pugh said.
The NAACP also offered a presidential election forum on Oct. 9 where panelists — Pugh and organization members Makayla Charles ’27, Ajayda Griffith ’27 and Tyler Brown ’26 — discussed the history of voting rights in the United States. They also discussed the policy stances of the Democratic and Republican Party candidates by reading clips from their speeches and highlighting excerpts from their policy pages, according to Pugh. The forum “offer[ed] objective information as it relates to each candidate,” Pugh explained.
Pugh added that the NAACP advocates for individuals to vote, instead of a specific ideological platform.
“Our objective is for everyone who has the capacity to vote to do so, and anyone that doesn’t have the capacity, that they are spreading the word to people that they know who do have the capacity,” he said.
On Oct. 23, Dartmouth Civics and Lebanon’s Supervisors of the Checklist hosted a voter registration and informational drive for students living in Summit on Juniper, according to Supervisor of the Checklist Valentina Baldwin.
“The goal is just to register as many students to vote as possible,” Baldwin said. “We’re expecting an incredibly large turnout [on Election] Day, and so the more people we have registered ahead of time, the less weight there’ll be for everybody over the day.”
Approximately 100 Dartmouth students living at Summit have registered to vote through the Lebanon City Office, according to Baldwin.
Early voter registration for New Hampshire residents closed on Oct. 29. However, students can also register on election day at their polling location, according to Neireiter.
“We really just want Dartmouth students to get involved with this election,” Neireiter added.
Neireiter also stressed the importance of filling out the “entire ballot” on election day.
“Don’t just fill in one bubble,” she said. “Every single bubble you fill out is very important.”
Dartmouth Civics will continue tabling at the Collis Center for Student Life and Novack Cafe until election day to give students the opportunity to ask questions about how to vote and make election day plans, according to Neireiter. The group developed pamphlets with information about the election, which can be accessed at these tables or through their Instagram account. Neireiter added that there will be “walking trains” — organized groups of walkers led by Dartmouth Civics — from “various locations on campus” to Hanover High School, the Hanover polling station, on election day.
Bella Neireiter is a photographer for The Dartmouth. She was not involved in the writing or production of this article.
