Pennsylvania may decide the presidential election. Here’s how Penn is approaching it.

Penn is gearing up for Election Day, which falls on Nov. 5 this year, by promoting civic engagement and voting efforts.

As a swing state worth 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is expected to play a critical role in this year's presidential election cycle. Penn also has deep political ties on both sides of the aisle in this year's election. The Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, is a 1968 Wharton graduate. Former Penn professor and President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee until he dropped out of the presidential race in July, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the Democratic ticket. 

The University’s Office of Government and Community Affairs aims to lead nonpartisan initiatives, including encouraging voter turnout in conjunction with student-led organization Penn Leads the Vote. While elections happen every November, presidential election cycles are unique, especially given the heightened media attention on the 2024 cycle. 

“Presidential election years are an especially exciting time on a college campus to learn and participate in voting, especially for our undergraduates, our young and first-time voters,” OGCA Senior Executive Director Dawn Deitch told The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

Some first-year students will be eligible to vote for the first time while on Penn's campus. Deitch said her office is prepared to help students vote in whichever way they prefer — whether it be through voting by mail or early in their home states if they are not from Pennsylvania, or voting on campus. 

One significant effort is National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 17, when Deitch’s office, PLTV, and multiple other campus partners will allow students to check their registration status in a daylong celebration. Over the course of the fall semester leading up to Election Day, Deitch said that initiatives are also being developed within schools, such as Penn’s School of Nursing, to increase awareness about voting. 

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the University is bound by rules from the Internal Revenue Service, which prohibit participation or interference in any political campaign. As a result, the OGCA is strictly nonpartisan. While Penn has not adopted a policy of institutional neutrality, Deitch said the OGCA effectively operates under those standards. 

“From an institutional mission perspective, Penn is organized around a single mission to deliver research, learning, and service, and when or if there are opportunities in the achievement of that mission to explore policies, issues, candidates, things like that — that's an important part in discovery here on our campus,” Deitch said. 

Students are eligible to vote in Pennsylvania as long as they are 18 or older and have been citizens of the United States and residents of Pennsylvania for at least a month before the election — meaning that the vast majority of Penn students 18 and above are eligible to vote on campus in November. However, they can only be registered in one place: either at Penn or at their home address. Those who plan to vote at Penn must update their registration if they have moved addresses. 

Pennsylvania does not allow same-day registration and voting. In the upcoming election cycle, Oct. 21 is the last day to register to vote, and Oct. 29 is the last day to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot. In a general election, such as the upcoming one in November, voters do not have to be registered to a certain political party in order to vote for a candidate.