Michael Solano

In the midst of the polarizing political climate leading up to the 2024 General Election, Bowdoin Votes has worked tirelessly to make voting and civic engagement accessible to everybody, regardless of their politics.

The nonpartisan group, which functions under the McKeen Center for the Common Good, operates with the goal of ensuring that students are registered to vote either in Maine or voting through an absentee ballot in their home state.

Bowdoin Votes has been utilizing various strategies to educate students about voting this election season, such as tabling outside of busy areas like Thorne Dining Hall and Bowdoin Express as well as posting informative videos on social media. The group has also spearheaded initiatives such as Bears to the Ballot, a challenge among athletic teams to have the highest percentage of members registered to vote in order to win a free night of appetizers at Jack Magee’s Pub and Grill. Strolls to the Polls involves students walking together to vote early at Brunswick Town Hall, accompanied by Bowdoin administrators or professors—and, on occasion, their dogs.

Bowdoin Votes Co-Program Coordinator Amelia Kane ’27 expressed her satisfaction with how these initiatives have drawn students to register and vote this election cycle.

“Strolls to the Polls … have been really successful. We had about seven people at the first one and closer to 15 at the second one,” Kane said. “We had 408 people registered to vote in Maine through us … and then a lot more have registered to get absentee ballots in their home state as well.” Kane also noted that four teams—women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, sailing and field hockey—had 100 percent participation in Bears to the Ballot.

Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe has joined students for Strolls to the Polls, which he noted he appreciated participating in.

“It’s pretty amazing work that [Bowdoin Votes is] doing, so I’m trying to help them out however I can.” Hoppe said. “I’ve been enjoying getting to know people and learning more about the really cool things that are happening here.”

Professor of Government and Asian Studies and Chair of the Government Department Henry Laurence has also participated in Strolls to the Polls and highlighted the importance and impact of such efforts.

“When you compare the voter turnouts of Bowdoin from ten years ago, even for quite significant elections like presidential elections to now, it’s massive.” Laurence said. “It just goes to show it wasn’t like people ten years ago, 15 years ago didn’t care. It’s just someone taking the extra step of telling you how to register to vote.”

Despite the success of these programs, Bowdoin Votes Co-Program Coordinator Ellen Salovaara ’26 noted that there have still been obstacles to strong student engagement.

“I think a huge problem right now with getting the most voter turnout we could be getting is that people are very cynical or just kind of indifferent about the process and just kind of tired,” Salovaara said. “There’s always been this narrative, in the time that we’ve been voting, that this is the most important election, you have to vote, you have to do this, and it can feel very heavy and just kind of depressing.”

This election season has been especially polarizing, and Kane noted the difficulty of running a nonpartisan group connected to political action.

“There’s definitely been people who walk by, both students and non-students, who have pushed us to really question whether or not we’re nonpartisan,” Kane said. “But I also think that people will respect our work because we’re nonpartisan, and it gives us validity in the work that we do, because they know that we’re doing it because we want people to get to the polls, and we don’t care what they do once they’re at the polls.”

Associate Director for Public Service Wendy Van Damme discussed plans for the organization following the election.

“I think we’ve got time and energy to say what inspired students and what were the gaps that we saw, and we can use this time at a slower, less hectic pace to offer up to our community … activities that help people learn, feel engaged, contribute … and also put all of us in a better position for the next election,” Van Damme said.

Kane repeatedly expressed appreciation towards the College for making the initiatives of the group she helps lead possible.

“I feel so lucky to do this work at a school like Bowdoin.” Kane said. “I think Bowdoin puts a lot of resources towards civic engagement in the student body. The fact that we have the infrastructure of the McKeen Center for the Common Good, and we have Wendy … the fact that they have spots for six paid student employees to help out with this work, I’m really grateful.”

Catalina Escobedo contributed to this report.