This November, the election of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz — and the future of the nation and our democracy — will be determined by voters in Pennsylvania and a small handful of other “swing” states, where margins are narrow and elections can go either way. In Pennsylvania, nineteen Electoral College votes are truly up for grabs. In 2016, Trump won the state by well less than 1%; in 2020, Biden won by just a little more than 1%. With elections that close, every vote, including yours, really can make a difference.
Many of you come from a state — blue or red — where the outcome of the presidential election, and the assignment of that state’s Electoral College votes, is a foregone conclusion, and whether you vote at home or not is not going to change that outcome. That means that unless you come from a different swing state or there is an important state or local election at play where you live, if you really want your vote to count, you should register and vote in Pennsylvania. On Garnet Days, there will be tables set up on campus to help you to register here, or to switch to Pennsylvania if you are registered at home. The college will be providing registration assistance at other times as well. If you have questions, please go to vote@swarthmore.edu.
When we graduated from Swarthmore, the nation sat on the cusp of profound political and social change. Before graduating, many of us had been committed to the Civil Rights Movement, and more of us would later work to end the war in Viet Nam and participate in other struggles to expand rights, secure justice, and protect the climate and natural environment.
But today, in 2024, we are profoundly concerned about losing everything that has been gained in the past. More than that, we are worried about the future — not our own, which will necessarily be brief, but our children’s, our grandchildren’s, yours. We are convinced that if Donald Trump is elected, you will lose the rights we worked to attain and see the dismantling of the accomplishments we were able to secure.
Rather than dismantling the accomplishments of the last six decades, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will consolidate and expand them. And they will lead the nation with intelligence, humanity, and respect in ways that we can be proud of and admire.
Please vote this November. Your future depends on it.
Carol Beattie Willis ’64
William H.L. “Bill” Dorsey ’68
Joan Bradbury ’64
Walter Pinkus ’65
Anne Cochran Sloan ’64
Archer Dodson Heinzen ’64
Terese Loeb Kreuzer ’64
Barbara Kline King ’64
Bernard Banet ’64
Jaqueline Lapidus ’62
Ellen Wright ’64
Leo Braudy ’63
John Wright ’62
Bonnie Holden Carter ’62
Connie Brown ’64
Albert J. Williams II ’62
Nick Egleson ’66
Isabelle P. Williams ’63
Joe Bernheim ’64
Lee Edwards ’62
Marge Lindner ’62
Peggy Colvin Tropp ’64
Heidi Hartmann ’67
Jeremiah Nelson ’65
Mike Meeropol ’64
Stacy L. Wallach ’65
Richard Barrett ’64
Rachel Folsom ’65
Kathy Fox ’65
Don Cohn ’65
Elizabeth Rosenberg Rumelt ’65
Michael Henle ’65
Niki Giloane Sebastian ’65
Nancy Myers O’Connor ’65
Emily Albrink Hartigan ’68
Hal Kwalwasser ’68
David Darby ’65
Bob Eaton ’65
Lucia Woodruff ’65
Andrea Fleck Cardy ’65
Richard Grossman ’65
Cathe Wright ’64
Gail Sise Grossman ’65
Gavin Wright ’65
Dana Carroll ’65
Great initiative! And what % of the student body changed their registration to vote in PA?