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The year 2024 has been a busy one for F&M Votes, a nonpartisan coalition of Franklin & Marshall students, faculty and staff engaged in voter registration, education and motivation activities.

Efforts to register students to vote in the 2024 general election began in spring semester, according to Brooke Proctor 鈥�26, a government major and one of the F&M Votes student co-chairs.

鈥淟ast spring it was a lot of preliminary work,鈥� Proctor said. 鈥淲e worked with clubs and organizations and went to their meetings, and we also met with student-athletes and encouraged them to register their teams.鈥�

Fall semester saw efforts ramp up even further. F&M Votes volunteers attended bagel breakfasts in the College Houses, participated in the Student Involvement Fair, and spent roughly 60 hours presenting information at a table in the Steinman College Center. 

Another major focus was visiting Connections seminars, which F&M students take during their first semester on campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity to sit down and give first-time voters an opportunity to register correctly, because we鈥檙e talking them through the process,鈥� said Ben Fraley 鈥�27, the other F&M votes student co-chair. 

After Pennsylvania鈥檚 Oct. 21 voter registration deadline, F&M Votes shifted their efforts to voter education and turnout. The group sponsored the Oct. 31 Common Hour, 鈥淭ipping Point State: The 2024 Election in Pennsylvania,鈥� and held a competition to see which College House could turn out the most registered voters on Election Day. 

鈥淚t was really just putting a tally mark on a sheet of paper to say, 鈥業鈥檓 from this College House, and I voted,鈥欌�� Fraley said. 鈥淏ut I think it did very well, because people had an extra reason to vote.鈥�

Though Proctor said it鈥檚 too early to have all the data from the 2024 election, in the past, the efforts of F&M Votes have resulted in above-average student registration and turnout. In 2022, 86.9% of eligible F&M students were registered to vote, and the campus received a Gold Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, indicating a voting rate between 40-49% in that year鈥檚 midterm elections. 

F&M Votes volunteers provided information to students and answered last-minute questions on Election Day. Photo by Deb Grove.

F&M students only had a short walk to their polling place on Election Day--students vote at the Lancaster Theological Seminary across the street from campus. Photo by Deb Grove.

Students could add a tally under their College House at the F&M Votes table on Election Day, as part of a competition to see which College House had the highest voter turnout. Photo by Deb Grove.

F&M Votes volunteers answered last-minute questions about voting on Election Day. Photo by Deb Grove.

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While the lack of high-profile elections in 2025 might make it difficult to generate excitement about voting, it also offers an opportunity for F&M Votes leaders to evaluate their efforts and plan for upcoming years. 

鈥淲e鈥檒l focus more on strategic planning, and getting ahead of those bigger election seasons,鈥� Proctor said. One of her goals for the political 鈥渙ff-season鈥� is to improve coordination with departments across campus, like mail services. 

鈥淪tudents are getting mail-in ballots and getting contacted by the Board of Elections,鈥� Proctor said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 worked with the mail room to figure out how to get students to show up and check that mail. So those are the kinds of things we鈥檙e going to be working on in the spring."

Fraley said his focus for the upcoming year is on building community. He hopes that hosting social events where volunteers can get to know the co-chairs and each other could increase engagement going forward. 

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 probably harder to get someone to sign up to volunteer if they don鈥檛 really know the person that鈥檚 emailing them,鈥� he said.

Both Proctor and Fraley said that serving as student co-chairs has provided leadership experience, connection with the F&M community, and insight into potential career paths. 

鈥淚t introduced me to a new type of leadership,鈥� Proctor said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something very unique and independent.鈥�

Next semester, she hopes to participate in F&M in Harrisburg, a practicum that combines coursework with hands-on experience through an internship in the state capitol. 

鈥淩ight now I鈥檓 in a very exploratory phase, trying to get as much experience as I can,鈥� Proctor said.

Fraley, a sophomore, hasn鈥檛 yet declared his major鈥攖hough he intends to major in government鈥攂ut is already thinking about next steps. He鈥檚 hoping to participate in Teach for America and is also interested in community organizing. 

鈥淚 care deeply about people and building power, and I love strategy,鈥� Fraley said, 鈥渁nd community organizing is pretty much all those things combined.鈥�