During the 2024 election cycle, 5C voting clubs have sought to build community amongst students through civic action. Recognizing the importance of active participation in democracy, clubs such as Claremont Colleges League of Women Voters (LWV), Every Vote Counts Claremont (EVCC) and Claremont Initiative for Voter Engagement Strategies (CIVES) work to ensure students have access to essential resources like voter registration assistance and nonpartisan information on propositions. Above all, these clubs provide an informed and civically engaged network of peers.
Claremont Colleges League of Women Voters
LWV is a women-led voting club dedicated to advocating for everyone’s right to vote and promoting democratic participation. The club belongs to a chapter of a national organization founded in 1920 that works towards a more inclusive democracy.
LWV believes that exercising civic duties extends far beyond presidential elections, including understanding policies, local government and everything in between.
“An election is so much more than just who becomes president, and a lot of times the most meaningful policy changes that voters have influence on are at the local level,” club leader Sydney Cottrell PO ’26 said.
Cottrell and her peers provide resources so people can gain a holistic understanding of the government and cast more informed votes.
“For me, one of the most important things about this club — beyond its explicit mission — is the community it cultivates. Whether that’s getting milkshakes at In-N-Out after an off-campus voter registration event, eating dinner with club members after our weekly meetings … I feel so fortunate to have met so many wonderful, eager and kind individuals,” club leader Ellie Urfrig PO ’26 said.
Since many college students require absentee ballots, LWV held events such as “Ballots and Boba,” where students filled out their absentee ballots together. They also held multiple tabling events where they offered nonpartisan proposition information to students filling out a California ballot, with a particular emphasis on local government.
For the 2024 election, LWV club members wrote 200 letters to swing state voters. Additionally, they co-hosted two presidential debate watch parties that had hundreds of students in attendance. The leadership team encouraged everyone to educate themselves on all policies and candidates, even those they disagreed with.
“Especially given the current state of our country, confronting political issues can seem scary and divisive,” Cottrell said. “What I hope to achieve through the [LWV] here on campus is reminding those around me of the importance of civic engagement and the excitement in knowing that your voice matters and your vote can make a difference, even if maybe it doesn’t seem like it at first glance.”
At its core, the club hopes students will continue to be active participants in democracy.
“I hope people were excited to participate and be a part of this monumental election,” Urfrig said. “The electoral process is not perfect, but it’s a path to progress. A path we can certainly criticize, but should never take advantage of, ignore or disengage with.”
Every Vote Counts Claremont
EVCC is a nonpartisan club dedicated to promoting student civic engagement and policy literacy to boost voter turnout. The club is a chapter of a nationwide organization that addresses voter engagement, civic education and pro-voter advocacy and reform.
Through educational programs, media and community events, they make civic engagement more accessible. EVC believes that democracy requires active and engaged voter participation.
Co-led by Olivia Wee CM ’25 and Isabel Apfel PZ ’26, EVC educates about the importance of local governance, the structure of government branches and down-ballot voting. The club also assists first-time voters with registration and helps with absentee ballot requests, including providing free postage.
“A big part of EVC, since it is a student group, is the peer-to-peer connection element,” Wee, who is also part of EVC’s national student leadership board, said. “Students tend to give more impactful and more compelling arguments to someone who is not going to vote. They might give it a second thought.”
This semester, EVC events began as early as orientation, where they registered over 80 Claremont McKenna first-years to vote through an ice cream social. With CIVES, they co-hosted the 5C voting carnival, which attracted 337 students. At the event, they incorporated trivia questions on U.S. government and history, such as questions from the U.S. Citizenship Exam, into fun games. Wee also worked to personally engage with students and other civic leaders within the Claremont Colleges.
“Creating the opportunity to vote uniquely sets culture. When you show up here, if that is one of the first things you encounter, a voting event, and it is something the college endorses, then you know that this is just something that CMC people do or something that people at Pomona do,” Wee said.
“Students tend to give more impactful and more compelling arguments to someone who is not going to vote. They might give it a second thought.”
Wee said that while civic engagement should be taught more widely, not all students have access to that knowledge. In the future, they hope to create more community outreach programs for local high schools, with an additional focus on the Claremont community.
Although EVC is part of CMC’s Kravis Lab for Leadership, Wee and Apfel make a conscious effort to extend this resource to the other Claremont Colleges by holding at least one event at each of the colleges per year.
They ensure that every 5C prospective and current student has access to EVC. With a prioritization of mutual aid, EVC encourages students to support each other, especially after the outcome of the 2024 election.
“I think what makes EVC unique in general is that we are by students, for students,” Wee said. “We really are here to create space and advocate for students, particularly for when we are dealing with some pretty challenging times nationally. We try to promote a healthy way forward for democracy and hopefully for young people to keep the democratic legacy alive.”
Claremont Initiative for Voter Engagement Strategies
The nonpartisan group CIVES is an extension of EVC. Their aim is to improve voter turnout and provide civic education for CMC students and beyond.
Founded in fall 2023, CIVES has held multiple events to educate the community on the importance of voting. Though CIVES hosted meetings and a voter registration drive throughout 2023, co-leader Apfel noted that CIVES’ activity and traction picked up this fall.
CIVES hosted two first-year registration drives at CMC, supported a registration drive at Pomona and tabled across the 5C campuses and the Claremont community. Set up by Apfel and Wee, the event saw lively raffles, food stands, and education booths for students to engage in voting initiatives. Apfel emphasized that the carnival was less focused on voter registration and more so on civic education.
“That’s a big pillar of CIVES as well, we are trying to make sure people are thinking civically, and are growing enthusiasm for civics too,” she said.
CIVES hopes to dispel the notion that Californian votes don’t matter. CIVES argues that democracy relies on everyone’s voices, and they encourage students to not throw away their democratic right.
“We want to make sure that students are really educated and have a better energy around civics, even if it is daunting and disappointing at times,” Apfel said.
Though CIVES is a CMC-based organization, its audience and impact reached far beyond campus. Apfel and Wee have set up tables in the greater Claremont area, offering registration, absentee ballot requests, and other voting help to passersby. In addition, they often host civic trivia to engage people and test their knowledge.
“A lot of the time, adults come with their young kids who watch their parents play some civic trivia and who maybe do not know the answers,” Apfel said. “It’s eye opening for both us and the parents. It gets people in the know and little bit more and makes them realize, maybe this is really important. It is impactful … to know things about our government and voting.”
CIVES have hosted similar tables across the 5C campuses to encourage students, especially first-time voters, to come ask questions and engage civically in the election.
“My favorite work is registering a new voter just because kids would get really excited about it,” Apfel said. “I thought that was really cool, that I could impart that enthusiasm onto someone else and let them feel that kind of energy.”
Apfel also appreciated the overwhelming support and engagement CIVES received throughout the fall semester and encouraged students to continue educating themselves on politics and using their voices to see civic change.
“[Following the election] we can see that there is definitely work to be done, and we shouldn’t be afraid of that, but we should be moving towards that instead,” Apfel said.
After the election, voting clubs across the campuses encourage students to remain civically involved. Though their registration and tabling have come to a pause, plenty of opportunities for civic education lay ahead.
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