CHER Organizes Early Voting Shuttles to Hartford City Hall

Rajsi Rana ’26

News Editor

On Nov. 2nd, 2024, The Center for Hartford Engagement and Research at Trinity (CHER) organized early voting shuttles for Trinity students to Hartford City Hall. This event was organized by Joe Barber, the Director of Community Service and Civic Engagement, and students Maliah Ryan ‘25, Caitlin Doherty ‘26 and Juan Rayo‘27. There were three shuttles that went out from the late morning to the early afternoon, an hour apart. 

This event was part of President Joanne Berger-Sweeney’s Trin Votes initiative to promote civic engagement amongst Trinity’s student body. In addition to the semester-long events to keep the student body updated with election events, they have set up a website with easily accessible information related to voting in this election. Trin Votes has partnered with on-campus organizations Campus Election Engagement Project and Trinity College ConnPIRG, as well as off-campus organizations Hartford Votes Vota Coalition, All In Challenge, NESCAC Votes and All In Campus Democracy Challenge.

The organization of the event “was a focused effort within the broader, semester-long TrinVotes initiative. Our team held weekly TrinVotes meetings to strategize and plan campus outreach around voter registration and election information, with extra attention to student engagement because it is a presidential election year,” said Ryan. 

This event was important to make voting accessible for Trinity students, both Connecticut residents and out-of-state students. “The TrinVotes initiative is important because it empowers students to participate in elections, despite the busyness and demands of college life. Students can easily get absorbed in their studies and forget about activities like voting, so TrinVotes helps by raising awareness and making the process more accessible,” said Ryan. Rayo, echoing Ryan, said that, “I believe this way of supporting Trinity students who are interested in voting early is of paramount importance to promote civic engagement at the school. I remember peers that approached our table and were concerned because they did not have time to go vote in their home states. They were very happy after learning that they still could vote in Connecticut. By having these shuttles, we are ensuring that every interested student has an opportunity to vote, making their voice heard and taking part in democracy.”   

Additionally, on-site registration to vote in CT was important for Trinity’s several out-of-state students who are unable to travel home to vote or experienced problems with mail-in ballots or preferred to vote in person.

This was the first election in which early voting was possible in Connecticut. Prior to this election, votes were cast on election day, a weekday. In 2022 Connecticut voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing early-in person voting. Following that, in 2023 the Connecticut General Assembly passed a law detailing how early voting would be implemented. This law mandates early voting periods for elections, primaries, and referendums, starting in 2024. Connecticut’s early voting period spans 14 days before general elections, seven days before most primaries, and four days before special elections and referendums, allowing for more flexibility for voters.