Zoe Berg

For another election cycle, Yale College does not plan to give students, faculty or staff Election Day off. 

As Election Day inches closer, student and college organizations across campus are ramping up voting accessibility and access efforts. The Yale College Council and Yale Votes: A Student Initiative have previously made efforts to have Election Day off. Yale administrators told the News that because many Yale students mail in ballots, the University has focused their efforts on making that process easier. 

“I think everyone should get work off on the date of the election, just because there are people that I think would participate if they had the time to, if they had the awareness that they could,” Rory Ashmeade ’26, Connecticut resident, told the News. “Depending on how long your work day is or how convenient it is for your schedule, that can be a deterrent for people voting — then you don’t have certain voices represented.”

Ashmeade, who is from Stamford, is a first-time voter in this election. She told the News that due to her class schedule, she has Tuesdays off, the weekday of Election Day. As a Connecticut resident, she can take the train to Stamford and cast her vote there, but she said the process may not be so easy for others.

Ashmeade said that her friends who are from outside of the state have had a hard time submitting absentee ballot applications and the appropriate documents through mail. She also told the News that if she did not have the day off, “it would definitely make it more difficult” for her to vote in the election. 

“When you come to campus, say from a different part of the country, it is like a bubble here. So if there aren’t frequent reminders, or if it’s not super publicized, it can be easy to forget about the rest of the world while you’re here and not engage with society, not engage with civic government,” Ashmaede told the News.

According to Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis, many Yale College students are registered in different parts of the country and would be voting by mail-in ballot. He told the News that because of the hours and proximity of New Haven polls, like in City Hall, located at 165 Church St., “almost all staff will have time to go to the pools, and same, frankly, goes for students.”

The Yale College administration has previously discussed giving students, staff and faculty the day off. However, Lewis noted, doing so would mean starting the academic school semester earlier to account for the missed day to meet the minimum hours of teaching a university must complete to receive their credentials and accreditation. 

Instead, Lewis said, the College’s efforts are now focused on “making it easier for students to register so that they have a chance to vote” through programs like Yale Votes and democracy liaisons.

Alex Moore ’26, president of Yale Votes: A Student Initiative, told the News that though they had previously discussed within the group working to get Election Day off in the past, it’s not a focus of the organization this semester. 

“We are getting a lot of support from the administration on helping students vote in general. That’s both them supporting our work and also them launching their own initiatives, like the Democracy Liaison program,” Moore told the News. “We generally acknowledge that most Yale students will be voting in a home state other than Connecticut, so it’s especially important for us to help people get absentee ballots and be able to vote at home.” 

Moore added that going against the administration on not having Election Day off is “not a priority for [them].”

To help make students aware of the closest polling locations and times, Moore told the News, Yale Votes: A Student Initiative will be leading  “Walk To The Polls” events. 

The Yale College Council also shared their previous efforts in 2022 and 2023 to include Election Day activities as a reason for dean’s extensions. Mimi Papathanasopoulos ’26, the YCC president, told the News that they are hoping to “work closely with Yale Votes and the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life to make political participation more accessible to students.”

“I’m excited, this being my first presidential election. I think it’ll definitely be a memorable time. I hope that people can make the efforts they need to make sure that they’re voting and they’re able to participate in the election,” Ashmeade told the News.

The 2024 presidential election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5.