Voter Registration Information
If you are a U.S. citizen and will be 18 years or older by Election Day (Tuesday, November 5, 2024), you are eligible to register and vote in the U.S. Elections. For voter registration information and for assistance navigating the voting process, please visit Bates’ Harward Center for Community Partnerships.

If you are studying abroad in Fall 2024, information to assist you in making your plan to participate in the election can be found here.

Thur. December 5
4:15 PM | Commons 221/222
Post Election Panel Discussion

Join faculty from Politics and Rhetoric and Screen Studies for commentary on post-election analysis and presidential transition activity and to have your questions answered.

Thur. November 14
4:15 PM | Commons 221/222

See Jane Run: How Women Politicians Matter for Young People

From Kamala Harris to Nikki Haley, women in public life are widely expected to inspire young people, especially girls, to follow in their footsteps. In this talk, Christina Wolbrecht shows how women in politics help convince young people, regardless of gender, that women are capable of political leadership. For young women, women role models enhance faith in democracy and inspire political engagement, including running for office themselves. As role models, she argues, women politicians help ensure a more inclusive democracy.

Dr. Christina Wolbrecht, is a professor of political science and the C. Robert and Margaret Hanley Family Director of the Notre Dame Washington Program, as well as affiliated faculty in the Gender Studies Program and a faculty fellow of the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights.

Sponsored by the Politics Department

Thurs. November 7
Election Debrief for Off Campus Study Students
(zoom) Register and/or join
2:00 PM EST (Lewiston) | 7:00 PM GMT (London) | 8:00 PM CET (Prague) | 9:00 PM SAST (Cape Town) | 6:00 AM AEDT (Sydney)

Join staff from Bates and other off-campus study students to discuss the results of the U.S. election and hold space together. All are welcome. This session will not be recorded.

Wed. November 6
Pause | 9:00 PM | Gomes Chapel

Led by Multifaith Fellows, center yourself with candlelight, music, and poetry for a half an hour in the chapel as you sift through whatever you are feeling. Be in a community practice of centering and stillness, and drink some comforting chai and connect with others after. 

Wed. November 6
Post-Election Reflection | 8:00 PM | Student Center for Belonging and Community, Chase Hall

The Student Center for Belonging and Community (SCBC) will hold a post-election processing space for students to process and reflect on the election in community with one another. Multifaith Chaplains and SCBC facilitators will be there for processing and support.

Wed. November 6
MakeSpace | 8:00 PM | The Ronj

Led by Multifaith Fellows, make art reflectively, take a deep breath, and be in cozy community with others to talk about recent events or not talk about it as you need. 

Wed. November 6
Community Breakfast
7:00 – 9:30 AM | Commons

On November 5, we will all be casting our votes toward an uncertain outcome. One certainty is that we will continue to move together in community with one another. To recognize and honor that community, we invite you to join with colleagues for breakfast in Commons the morning of November 6 from 7 – 9:30 am. There is no program planned. You are invited to share food, share conversation and begin your day with the singleness of purpose to simply be together. There is no cost for breakfast.

Wed. November 6
What Do We Know? Post Election Panel Discussion
| 4:15 PM | Memorial Commons

Hosted by John Baughman, Professor and Chair of Politics, Steve Engel, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Politics, Stephanie Kelly-Romano, Professor and Chair of Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies.

Whether results are in or not, come together to see what we know, what is happening, what it means.

BATES VOTES Public Memory Project
Call for Submissions
Over the years, presidential elections have energized and captured the attention of American voters. While people vote for many different reasons, the Harward Center, is leaning into the idea that voting is an act of care for one’s community – regardless of party, ideology, or candidate. 

In that spirit, the Bates community is invited to share brief reflections to inspire and engage our campus ahead of the 2024 elections.  Campus community members are invited to submit a photo, written reflection, or a short video in response to your earliest memory of voting, or what makes you excited about voting in the presidential election. 

Sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. Photo: Getty Images

Tues. November 5
Election Night Watch Party
8:00 PM – Midnight | Chase Hall, multiple rooms

Join us as we watch the results roll in from the 2024 U.S. elections! Bring your friends, and choose your channel to watch – there are multiple viewing spaces spread out throughout the building:

• The Den (until 10pm): ABC & CBS
• Memorial Commons & Chase Lounge (room 102): NBC
• Skelton Lounge (room 201): Fox News
• Hirasawa Lounge (room 203) (sponsored by the College Democrats): CNN
• The Student Center for Belonging & Community (SCBC): NBC

The Den will be open until 10pm, serving its usual menu, and a variety of amazing food will be available for free throughout the night in the lounge near the Purposeful Work seating area. Pizza will also be delivered to all of the spaces around 10pm. 

Let us know you’re coming by RSVPing on Bates Engage here!
Sponsored by Campus Life, the Student Center for Belonging & Community, and the departments of Politics and Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies.

Tues. Nov 5
Don’t Stress Decompress
7:30 PM – 11:30 PM | Frank’s Lounge, Gillespie Hall
Come as you are!
This space is for unwinding and taking a breather in the midst of the election season. Enjoy board games, snacks, reading and coloring with some friends in Res Life!

There will be no election results broadcast in this space.
Sponsored by Residence Life and Health Education

Tues. November 5
Election Day! In-person voting in Maine.
If you haven’t voted yet, now is your chance! The Harward Center for Community Partnership can help you find and get to your polling location.

Students vote at the Lewiston Armory or Montello School
Polls Open 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Wed. October 30
7:00 PM | Chase Hall Lounge
Brooks Quimby Debate Council
The Brooks Quimby Debate Council is the student debating society at Bates College, founded just after the College in 1855. The BQDC will be hosting a fun debate on a topic (TBD!) relevant to the Presidential Election.

Submit a debate motion! Let the BQDC know what topic you’d like to see debated.

Download a PDF flyer
Sponsored by the Brooks Quimby Debate Council and Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies

Thurs. October 24
7:00 PM | Olin 105 Screening Room

Voces: Latino Vote 2024
This brand new PBS documentary focuses on the key issues that will drive Latino voter turnout in some of the most hotly contested battleground states, including Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, and Pennsylvania. The film also delves into the efforts both political parties are making to reach the Latino electorate in California, the state with the largest Hispanic/Latino population in the country. (Read More)
Image by Quiet Pictures and PBS

Facilitated by
Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz, Professor and Chair of Latin America and Latinx Studies, Bates College
Ángel Saavedra Cisneros, Assistant Professor of Government, Bowdoin College

Watch the trailer
Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by the Politics Department and Latin American and Latinx Studies

Thurs. October 24
4:00 PM | Muskie Archives

The Crisis of a Close Call: Disinformation in the 2024 Presidential Election

As most political experts agree that the presidential contest in 2024 is likely to be decided by seven swing states, there is an enhanced risk that disinformation may play an important role in deciding the winner in such a close contest. This presentation will track the evolution of political conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns, review the ways disinformation influences voters and swings elections, and assess the likelihood that the latest campaign season will be threatened by purposeful misinformation.

Ryan Neville Shepard ’04, University of Arkansas
Sponsored by Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies

Wed. October 23
7:00 PM | Olin 105 Screening Room

The West Wing – Pilot Episode

Aaron Sorkin’s classic political procedural which ran for 7 seasons. In this pilot episode, the West Wing staffers are introduced as each learns that the President was in a cycling accident. Josh faces the possible loss of his job after an on-air insult of a political opponent, which Toby tries to prevent by having Josh make a personal apology. Sam ineptly lectures a class of 4th-graders about the White House and then asks their teacher which child is Leo’s daughter. Leo must deal with 137 Cuban refugees who escaped on rafts and are seeking asylum. The president walks in during Josh’s apology, recites the First Commandment, and lambastes three Christian pols for not denouncing a fringe group.

Facilitated by
Stephanie Kelley-Romano, Professor and Chair of Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies

Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies

Mon. October 7 – Mon. October 14
Art Exhibit:  Making Meaning of Democracy – Contextualizing History of Voting Rights & Voter Suppression in the 2024 Election

Student Presentations
Wed. October 9
6:00 – 9:00 PM | Chase Hall Lounge
Refreshments will be provided.

Join an art exhibition from students in Art & Visual Culture’s Visual Meaning class.  As part of their research-based conceptual art course, students will explore the history of voting rights and voter suppression in the U.S. Based on their research and inquiry, students will exhibit their art and share reflections to engage the campus community in conversations about voting and civic participation. 
Sponsored by the Department of Art & Visual Culture, the Harward Center, and Project Pericles

Image: Library of Congress/Interim Archives/Getty Images

Mon. October 14
4:15 PM | Commons 221/222

Wicked Men: The Dangers of the Imperial Presidency after Trump v. United States (2024)

Dr. Amanda Hollis-Brusky, Professor of Politics, Pomona College
Professor Hollis-Brusky will discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States (2024) in the context of the longer-term trend of judges and lawyers enabling the growth of the Imperial Presidency, explaining how and why these efforts are so dangerous for American democracy.  

Sponsored by the Politics Department
Download PDF Flyer

Thurs. October 10
2024 Annual Richard W. Sampson Lecture
7:00 PM | Pettengill G52

Mathematical Foundations of Democracy: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation

Ismar Volić, Professor and Chair of Mathematics At Wellesley College and Director of the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy

Many of the mechanisms that underlie our democracy are outdated, unrepresentative, or simply discriminatory. Winner-take-all races cause spoilers and vote-splitting, discourage political diversity, support the duopoly’s iron grip, and encourage negative campaigning. Crowded primary elections elevate fringe candidates who compete in districts that have been gerrymandered into uncompetitive insignificance. The Electoral College perpetuates inequities in the voting power between voters in different states. READ MORE

Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by the Mathematics Department

Wed. October 9
8:30 PM | Late Night at the Den, Chase Hall

Election Trivia Night

Hosted by
Stephanie Kelly-Romano, Professor and Chair of Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies and
Steve Engel, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Politics

Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by Politics, Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies and Student Affairs

Tues. October 8
7:00 PM | Muskie Archives

A Story to Save America: Why U.S. democracy has always been vulnerable, how we reached the brink and what we can do about it
Colin Woodard

Colin Woodard, one of the nation’s leading authorities on North American regionalism, describes how the United States has become unraveled—putting the continued survival of the republic and the federation in doubt—and what we must do to rescue the situation. There’s never been one America, he argues, but several Americas, each with their own, centuries-old ideals, values, and religious and cultural heritage. Tensions between these regional cultures have riven our balkanized federation and, in recent decades, created the conditions for the collapse of our liberal democratic experiment. Woodard will share the Nationhood Lab‘s latest research into current voter attitudes and values, and the opportunities to unify for America’s democracy.

Colin Woodard is currently Director of the  Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University, an interdisciplinary research, writing, testing and dissemination project focused on counteracting the authoritarian threat to American democracy and the centrifugal forces threatening the federation’s stability. 

Sponsored by the Harward Center and Muskie Archives

Thurs. October 3
4:15 PM | Commons 221/222

Putin’s Forever War
Despite Donald Trump’s claim that the war in Ukraine is “dying to be settled,” a feat he boasted he could accomplish in 24 hours before even taking office, nothing could be further from the truth: today the war remains intractable with no end in sight. Those who imagine some set of territorial or policy compromises that could secure a lasting peace fail to understand the true underlying causes of Russia’s war, a mistake that could have grave consequences if Kyiv is forced to make a deal with the Kremlin. This talk explores why a just peace remains out of reach and why the stakes have never been higher for Ukraine, Europe, and America as we approach the 2024 election.

Dr. Rob Person, Professor of International Relations, United States Military Academy at West Point

Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by the Politics Department

Tues. October 1
Don’t Stress Decompress
8:30 PM – 10:30 PM | Kalperis Game Room
Come as you are!
This space is for unwinding and taking a breather in the midst of the election season. Enjoy board games, snacks, reading and coloring with some friends in Res Life!

The vice presidential debate will not be broadcast in this space.
Sponsored by Residence Life and Health Education

Tues. October 1
Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party
With introduction by faculty from Politics and Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies

Chase Hall Lounge | 8:45 PM
Refreshments Provided

Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by Politics, Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies and Student Affairs

Submissions Due Tues. October 1
Bates “I Voted” Sticker Design Contest
Back by popular demand, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships is sponsoring the 2024 Bates “I Voted” Sticker Design Contest, open to current Bates students for submission. Click here for guidelines and to submit.

Winning design to be printed as a 2″ round limited-edition sticker for the Nov. 5, 2024 Elections. Original artwork or designs must contain “I Voted,” but the rest is up to you!

Tues. September 24
4:15 PM | Commons 221/222

After Backlash: The Many Faces of the Racial Presidency
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are unique candidates, but the 2024 election has important historical parallels in time: we are in a moment of transition into a new era of race and the presidency. Drawing on the lessons of the 1870s and the 1970s, this talk explores the pitfalls and the possibilities of the current moment.

Dr. Julia Azari, Marquette University
Julia Azari is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University. She holds Ph.D., M.A. and M.Phil. degrees in political science from Yale University, and a B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research and teaching interests include the US presidency, US political parties, political communication, and American political development. 

Download PDF Flyer
Sponsored by the Politics Department

Wed. September 18
7:00 PM | Olin 105 Screening Room

Screening the Presidency Film Series:
GAME CHANGE
With John McCain trailing in the polls during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, strategist Steve Schmidt knew he needed a ‘game changer’ to turn the tide. With Sarah Palin, he thought he had found that person. Told primarily through Schmidt’s eyes, the film pulls back the curtain on the McCain team and their clash over politics and principles as Schmidt championed Palin as McCain’s running mate only to later regret it as pressures on the Alaska Governor brought the campaign perilously close to irrelevance.
Watch Trailer

Sponsored by Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies
Download PDF Flyer

Facilitated by Stephanie Kelley-Romano, Professor and Chair of Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies

Tues. September 17
4:15 PM | Chase Hall Lounge

Demystifying the Election
Professors John Baughman, Steve Engel and Stephanie Kelley-Romano answer all questions big and small.
Look for question boxes in various locations on campus during the first days of classes and submit questions in advance.
Refreshments will be available!

Sponsored by Politics, Rhetoric, Screen and Film Studies and the Harward Center
Download PDF Flyer

Tues. September 17
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Outside Commons

National Voter Registration Day
Whatever your political affiliation, take the time to to get #VoteReady. The Harward Center and Bates Votes are part of a national effort of over 5,000 businesses, schools, and civic institutions to participate in nonpartisan voter registration ahead of various state deadlines.  Every year, eligible students need to update their registration.   

To mark National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 17, the Bates voter registration table will be open from 7am to 7pm outside of Commons Dining Hall.  Please visit the table for additional information on how to register in Maine, how to request your absentee ballot, and nonpartisan voting information and down ballot races in Maine.  

Sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships

Fri. September 13
4:15 PM | Global Ed Lounge, Roger Williams Hall

International Perspectives on the U.S. Presidential Election
Students share their insights from their home countries and study abroad experiences

Sponsored by Global Education and the Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Download PDF Flyer

Tues. September 10
Presidential Debate Watch Party
With introduction by faculty from Politics and RFSS
Chase Hall Lounge | Refreshments Provided!
Doors Open: 8:30 PM
Pre Event Commentary: 8:45 PM
Debate Broadcast: 9:00 PM

Sponsored by Politics, Rhetoric Film and Screen Studies and Student Affairs
Download PDF Flyer

Tues. September 10
Don’t Stress Decompress
8:30 PM – 10:30 PM | Kalperis Game Room
Come as you are!
This space is for unwinding and taking a breather in the midst of the election season. Enjoy board games, snacks, reading and coloring with some friends in Res Life!

The presidential debate will not be broadcast in this space.
Sponsored by Residence Life and Health Education

Mon. September 2
Voting Registration Information
4:00 – 5:30 PM | Commons

Mon. August 26
Studying Abroad in Fall 2024? Get Vote Ready!
Join the Center for Global Education and the Harward Center for information on voting in the U.S. Election while studying abroad.
4:00 PM EST | Contact jvendil@bates.edu for Zoom link