With Election Day just over a month away, Princeton’s politically active student groups are gearing up for a surge of campus engagement. Both the Princeton College Republicans and Princeton College Democrats are planning a series of events aimed at mobilizing students ahead of the Nov. 5 election. These groups are finding ways to encourage political engagement despite University restrictions on political activities, which are enforced by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS), the office under which these groups are registered.
According to Section 1.5 of Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities, “activities on the part of individuals or groups do not, and should not be taken to, imply commitment of the University to any partisan political position or point of view.” Among other restrictions, such organizations cannot use University facilities for fundraising for a candidate and “are prohibited from using the University’s name to solicit tax-deductible charitable contributions.”
“Such organizations will be charged for use of facilities for the appearance of political candidates which are closed events or which do not provide an opportunity for questioning,” the website adds. “Other candidates for the same political office must be given the opportunity to appear in an equivalent venue on an equivalent basis.”
Restrictions around endorsing candidates remain unclear, despite the listed rules. Michelle Miao, the president of the Princeton College Democrats, shared with The Daily Princetonian that last semester, the club was unable to endorse candidates due to legal concerns from the Office of the General Counsel.
Miao is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Neither Princeton College Democrats nor Princeton College Republicans have endorsed a specific presidential candidate.
In a comment to the 'Prince', University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill shared that ODUS "actively supports student organizations, including the College Democrats and Republicans, and encourages free speech and civic engagement.” The comment adds that ODUS assists “student organizations with both understanding and adhering to policy around political activity restrictions, which are based on federal regulations that apply to all 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.”
“Recently, ODUS hosted a political activity training open to all student organizations in preparation for the 2024 general election this fall and communicates regularly with groups on any questions or concerns,” Morrill shared.
While the jury is still out on whether or not these groups can endorse candidates, both groups are planning several events in compliance with University rules as Election Day approaches.
Santhosh Nadarajah ’25, vice president of the Princeton College Republicans, said the group is currently working on organizing town halls and a speaker series with politicians as the election approaches. They will also be advertising canvassing opportunities in support of Dave McCormick, the Pennsylvania Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
Nadarajah also said he is personally planning a town hall with Curtis Bashaw, the New Jersey Republican Senate nominee. He hopes the event will serve as “an opportunity for the Princeton community to familiarize themselves with Bashaw’s campaign.” He also said additional town halls with Republican candidates for next year’s gubernatorial election are in the works, including New Jersey State Sen. Jon Bramnick and former New Jersey State Rep. Jack Ciattarelli.
Miao said their group is primarily focusing on advertising electoral work opportunities for students in the Princeton community this semester.
Some of this work includes phone banking, partisan and nonpartisan letter-writing, button-making, and canvassing every weekend. Locations for these canvassing events, which are organized by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO), alternate between Pennsylvania and NJ-07, a district that Democrats are hoping to flip by electing Sue Altman.
In town, the PCDO has established a new headquarters on Sept. 9 at 188 Nassau St., the site of many of these opportunities for students to get involved ahead of election season.
College Democrats Vice President Nicholas Urbati ’25 explained that due to ODUS restrictions that prohibit “directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for [any] elective public office,” College Democrats “remains unaffiliated” from PCDO but will continue to highlight PCDO “to ensure that students are politically active.”
On Sept. 13, PCDO hosted a grand opening party where attendees could sign up for canvassing and learn about other volunteer initiatives. Members of the 2024 PCDO executive board also discussed their goals for the remaining month before the election.
Liz Lempert, the former mayor of Princeton, was in attendance. After serving in local government for eight years from 2013 to 2020, she told the ‘Prince’ she felt “super excited” about PCDO’s new space and the enthusiasm people have demonstrated for the Harris-Walz presidential campaign.
“I think one of the great things about a headquarters is it creates a sense of community,” she said. “It’s a really natural way for students and people in the town to work together in a collective campaign.”
Miao, also in attendance at the party, emphasized that “this election is truly the most important in our lifetimes, and that beyond just the policy issues, democracy itself is at stake on the ballot.”
She said she wanted her peers to know that “college students hold a lot of electoral power” this year, and even if they “don’t really believe in either candidate,” the one that wins “matters for what kind of society and what kind of activist environment we'll be living in and organizing in for the next four years.”
PCDO is currently hosting drop-in hours at their headquarters every week for students interested in getting involved. They will also be tabling along Nassau Street outside of the Princeton Garden Theatre every weekend.
As the election approaches, Nadarajah said College Republicans hopes “to see a politically-engaged campus” on Nov. 5 — “one that respects the outcome of the election, regardless of who the winner is — and a campus that can embrace respectful disagreements with people who have differing policy positions.”
“Election denialism is an issue that affects both sides,” Nadarajah continued, citing past instances of Democrats objecting to electoral college votes and Republicans making claims about election fraud. “We hope that Democrats and the Princeton community will accept a Trump victory if Trump is victorious. On the other hand … we hope that Republicans will accept a Kamala Harris victory if Harris is victorious.”
Megan Cameron is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince’ from New Windsor, N.Y.
Correction: A previous version of this article included a quote from Dean Ian Deas that the ‘Prince’ could not independently verify. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error. The piece has been updated with comment from University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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