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With abortion on the ballot, here’s how campus groups are getting voters involved

Online Niel November 5, 2024

A day before Election Day, New York State doesn’t see the same direct threats to abortion rights as states run by republicans.

Still, abortion rights remain a central issue for Tompkins County voters in the cause very competitive contest between Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and Democrat Josh Riley over New York’s 19th Congressional District. Riley has strongly criticized Molinaro’s history of anti-abortion votes, which contrasts with Molinaro’s recent one pro-abortion campaign promises.

New York voters will also decide Proposition 1 this election, which would define “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy” as protected clauses in the New York State Constitution, if enacted.

With these elements in mind, campus groups held events throughout the fall semester to promote dialogue about abortion and conducted research to educate voters about the election’s impact on reproductive health.

Planned Parenthood Generation Action at Cornell

Planned Parenthood Generation Action at Cornell advocate for Ithaca and Cornell voters to support reproductive rights. Recently, the group canvassed Ithaca, informing voters about the candidates and their positions on abortion and what specifically is on the ballot.

“Face-to-face interaction with these potential voters is the most effective way to remind people of their right to vote and inform them about the important issues that will affect the ballot in the next election,” said Pat Li’ 26, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair of Cornell’s PPGA Chapter.

PPGA’s canvassing efforts also aimed to inform voters about Project 2025 — a political wish list for the next Republican president, written by the Heritage Foundation, a prominent right-wing think tank. Project 2025, which Trump has done repeatedly disowned despite having key advisors involved in its production, reject the idea of abortion as health care.

“For the many voters in swing states who want to protect abortion and their reproductive rights, it is in their best interest to vote against parties that perpetuate the harmful policies defined in Project 2025,” Li said.

While abortion rights remain a pole subject of national political debate, the campus community supports PPGA initiatives for the most part, according to Li.

“At least at Cornell, I feel like most people are pro-choice,” Li said. “When we sit down at the table sometimes and have condoms everywhere and plan B, people will get up and take them and they’re not ashamed of it, which I think is great.”

Cornell Republicans

Meanwhile, Cornell Republicans are pushing for conservative perspectives on abortion before Election Day.

“We really feel like there’s not a lot of dialogue. We want different opinions. We want people who can be passionately pro-life,” said Cornell Republicans Executive Vice President Max Whalen ’26.

Cornell Republicans hosted anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson on campus on September 30. The event was sponsored by Young America’s Foundation – an organization focused on promoting conservative views for younger generations. Johnson shared about her experiences as a former Planned Parenthood employee before engaging in a question-and-answer session.

“We like to cover a lot of different events across the spectrum of the center-right movement,” Whalen said. “We always try to look for speakers that can meet different criteria. We want to make sure everyone is represented, make sure everyone has a speaker they can come to if that’s their interest, for example. Abby Johnson was the perfect fit for that.”

There hasn’t been an anti-abortion speaker on campus in years, to Whalen’s knowledge.

Whalen said the Cornell Republicans would be open to dialogue with Cornell’s PPGA chapter.

Whalen did not respond to a follow-up request for comment on the organization’s canvassing efforts by the time of publication.

Cornell Democrats

Cornell Democratic leaders agree on the importance of open discussions about abortion rights before Election Day. Acting President Ella Hogan ’28 said that at the organization’s first meeting of the semester, about 35 students attended a discussion about abortion.

“It was a deeply moving and impactful dialogue and conversation because this is not an issue that is far from us,” Hogan said. “It’s an issue that people feel so passionate about — as they should.”

Like PPGA’s efforts, Cornell Democrats also helped with campaign work for Riley and State Senator Lea Webb (D-NY). They researched the local Ithaca community and hosted telephone banking events.

Vote 4 Equality

An independent spending campaign a The feminist majority, Vote 4 Equality aims to mobilize students in congressional or presidential transition states to change their registration from their home address to their college campus address.

In a written statement to the Sun, campus coordinator Hannah Irvine ’25 explained that Cornell’s Vote 4 equality club filed on Ho Plaza and encouraged students to register to vote.

“Our campaign is committed to highlighting the importance of feminist issues in this election, particularly abortion access, and it is crucial that students vote with this in mind,” Irvine wrote.

Sophia Koman ’27 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at (email protected).

Maya Schmaling ’28 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at (email protected).

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With abortion on the ballot, here’s how campus groups are getting voters involved

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With abortion on the ballot, here’s how campus groups are getting voters involved

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