The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with several political clubs at Penn — Penn Democrats, Penn College Republicans, Penn Leads the Vote, the Government and Politics Association, and Penn for Liberty — to explore their plans and goals for the fall 2024 semester, particularly leading up to the presidential election.
Penn Democrats
Penn Dems will focus on recruitment for the first few weeks of the semester, according to College junior and Penn Dems President Ellie Goluboff-Schragger. Since membership numbers often drop during non-election years, its goal is to boost club membership and build a strong team for this fall.
Goluboff-Schragger said the organization aims to get the student body registered to vote in September and October, particularly first years, then focus on driving voter turnout in the following months.
No other collegiate Democratic organization in the state registered more voters than Penn Dems did for the 2022 midterm elections, according to Goluboff-Schragger, and voter registration continues to be a large part of the group’s efforts. Since Pennsylvania is a swing state, it is also working to encourage people to switch their voter registration from their home state to Pennsylvania.
In addition to promoting voter registration, the organization aims to provide information on how the electoral process works, where polling places are located, and how to vote. It also hopes to keep students informed about the candidates and issues important to them.
“One of the big things that [Penn Dems] does is education. I think we’ve done a good job of educating people about issues and bringing in speakers that talk about what is relevant to our current moment,” Goluboff-Schragger said.
Goluboff-Schragger told the DP that Penn Dems hope to revive canvassing, which saw a decline during the 2020 election season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is planning trips to swing districts in Pennsylvania suburbs for canvassing efforts and is looking to partner with other universities to bring their members to Philadelphia.
On Sept. 16, Jack Schlossberg — the sole grandson of former President John F. Kennedy — attended a Penn Dems tabling event. Several club members also went to an event featuring Vice President Kamala Harris at the Community College of Philadelphia on Sept. 17.
It is also organizing weekly political action events on Tuesday nights, including phone banking and other activities.
Penn College Republicans
In a statement to the DP, College Republicans said it is “committed to fostering respectful dialogue and encouraging civic engagement across all political perspectives” for the upcoming semester.
According to the organization’s Instagram page, it recently placed nearly 3,000 flags on College Green to remember and honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. As it continues to plan more events for the semester, College Republicans wrote that it is in contact with the Republican National Committee and several prominent speakers, including Dave McCormick, the Republican nominee for the 2024 Pennsylvania Senate race.
College Republicans wrote its goal is to “create a space for students to stay informed, connect with leaders, and have their voices heard.” The organization also emphasized the importance of voting, regardless of party affiliation, and highlighted its desire to create an environment where students can discuss salient issues.
Penn Leads the Vote
PLTV — a student-run nonpartisan organization that works to increase voter and civic engagement on campus — remains focused on registering students to vote, with a goal of achieving 100% voter registration among eligible students by 2028.
In 2022, the registration rate among Penn’s eligible student body was 73%; in 2020, the most recent presidential election year, the rate was 86%.
College senior and PLTV Director Alyssa Antonian explained that, along with ensuring students are registered and voting, PLTV strives to keep students informed and engaged throughout the year.
“Our overarching goal is to instill a habit of voting and being civically engaged in Penn students,” Antonian said. “These are super formative years, so if we get people in the habit of voting now, that carries on with them throughout their life."
Over the past year, PLTV has been working to implement institutional change by meeting with the registrar’s office and University officials to explore integrating a voter registration form into Path@Penn.
PLTV will host an event on Sept. 17 for National Voter Registration Day and has already set up tabling events to speak to members of different organizations about voter registration.
While Penn is PLTV’s main focus, it works with other organizations in the West Philadelphia area throughout the year. It is currently organizing an event at a local entertainment festival and is in regular contact with the High School Voter Project through the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, according to Antonian.
Government and Politics Association
The Government and Politics Association — Penn’s largest political organization devoted to nonpartisan dialogue — told the DP that one of its biggest goals this semester is growth, both within the club and general political life on campus. In late August, the group held an orientation session for students interested in learning more about GPA, which College senior and GPA President Dhilan Lavu said garnered a high turnout.
College junior and Penn Political Union Speaker Mia Antonacci told the DP that GPA wants to focus on fostering “a collaboration between those who want to use their voice” and talk about issues, and “the general population that might just want to sit and learn.”
Lavu also discussed the organization’s decision to moderate a preceptorial debate between Penn Dems and College Republicans specifically within the context of the 2024 election — something which the group had not done before. In previous debates, questions were not specific to current affairs.
“We just felt like there was so much excitement and political passion surrounding these two candidates that we didn’t want to beat around the bush,” Lavu said. “We wanted to let people express their views and hear views directly supporting or criticizing each candidate.”
Penn for Liberty
Second-year University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School student and Penn for Liberty President Caleb Waters told the DP the organization’s main goal is to hold consistent meetings this semester and foster engaging conversations for club members.
“We want to be a place where people can come and openly discuss interesting ideas that are important,” Waters said.
While Penn for Liberty’s activities will remain fairly consistent with previous semesters, Waters anticipates that the upcoming presidential election may influence the topics discussed, making them more electorally focused than usual.
“A lot of times our conversations can be really philosophical and more oriented toward the libertarian political theory,” Waters said. “Whereas now, I think we’ll certainly try to plan some meetings this semester around the libertarian view of the candidates.”
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