By Donald Gilpin

Voter turnout in Princeton was lower than many expected in the 2024 November election, and most New Jerseyans would agree that more people should participate in the democratic process by casting their ballots, but why numbers are down and what to do about it is a subject of widespread disagreement.

The question of voter turnout becomes particularly important in the context of New Jersey’s current campaign for a new governor, with 10 confirmed candidates, endorsements flowing in, primaries in June, and the General Election in November.

Mercer County Democratic Committee Chair Janice Mironov, who is also the mayor of East Windsor, declined to single out any particular town or county, but cited a number of factors that diminished participation in the 2024 election.

“Voter turnout does appear to have been down in many towns in Mercer County, and seemingly even more so in other counties across the state,” she said. “This was a complicated election year for many folks, and there were a variety of economic, national, and international matters on their minds and impacting their vote or non-vote, as the case may be.”

Princeton Democratic Municipal Committee (PDMC) Chair Felicia Spitz pointed out that Princeton has more registered voters now than it had at the time of the 2016 election (22,407 v. 20,216), but that more ballots were cast in 2016 (13,189 v. 12,920). Princeton’s voter turnout percentage in 2024 was 57.66 percent, second lowest among 12 Mercer County municipalities.

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello, emphasizing that she was expressing her personal opinions, not an official statement, commented on the low turnout in Princeton, which she said was in line with low turnout in New Jersey and generally throughout the country.

“It is a surprise to see a low turnout in Princeton, but I think it’s somewhat reflective of what took place nationally,” she said. “There was definitely a fall-off. There was an overall drop-off in turnout nationwide and statewide. New Jersey and the country had a lower turnout than four years ago.”

She went on to point out that the numbers for the Princeton University districts were among the lowest of any Princeton districts. Many attribute that phenomenon to inflated voter registration numbers at Princeton University and also possibly to Princeton students’ disappointment with both presidential candidates amidst campus demonstrations over the Israel-Gaza War.

Jean Durbin, former president of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) and current chair of programming, acknowledged that the November 2024 election was complicated and stated that this low turnout was similar to prior years when there was not a locally contested election on the ballot.

Durbin also mentioned that some people “were not excited about” Kamala Harris, as well as the Princeton Democrats’ focus on Pennsylvania rather than Princeton. Two initiatives that could boost voter participation in the future, she suggested, are same-day voter registration and ranked-choice voting.

Princeton Republican Committee Chair Dudley Sipprelle claimed that Princeton’s percentage of registered voters who cast ballots is always significantly reduced by the University students who are double registered and much more likely to vote in their home districts rather than in Princeton. He noted that campus organizations often run big registration campaigns, but many of those registered don’t vote. He added that many students on the registration rolls have already graduated and moved away.

Looking ahead, Sipprelle expressed optimism, based on 2024 results, for the Republicans’ chances in upcoming elections. He pointed out that Donald Trump did much better than expected in Princeton and in New Jersey in 2024, and in the 2021 race for governor Jack Ciattarelli came surprisingly close to upsetting Gov. Phil Murphy.

“That augurs well given the fact that people are more likely to give Republican candidates a closer look,” said Sipprelle. “The election for governor is going to be hard fought, and it will be interesting to see the outcome. We have high hopes.”

There are currently six confirmed Democratic candidates and four confirmed Republican candidates for governor.

PCDO President Jeffrey Oakman agreed on the importance of this year’s elections. He wrote in an email, “Especially with the governor’s race and the Assembly races in LD16, this is a critical election year in Princeton, and the PCDO is anxious to help boost voter turnout as much as we can. We will work hard over the coming months to make sure voters are informed and mobilized to support Democrats up and down the ballot.”

The PCDO hosted a gubernatorial candidate forum last month and will be holding its local endorsement meeting on March 16.

Spitz sees the local drop-off in voter turnout as a significant problem and is working on a survey under the auspices of the PDMC to help ascertain why some Princeton residents didn’t vote in the last election and what might motivate them to vote in the future.

“It’s gotten unpleasant and complicated,” she said. “When I look back 20-30 years, there wasn’t as much media coverage. There wasn’t this constant inundation of opinions and commentary. I wonder if people are just feeling ‘enough already,’ and distancing themselves from the entire process.”

She went on to comment on the possibility that voters need to be better informed. “Is part of this simply uninformed voters thinking, ‘I don’t like what I hear,’ or ‘I don’t like the mess I see’ or ‘I don’t like what my favorite podcaster said,’ and feeling like it’s too much work to conduct independent research in unbiased media sources to figure this out?” she wondered.

Noting that Princeton often falls behind the county average in General Election turnout data, Spitz stated, “I genuinely want to understand. Princeton is a community that prides itself on engagement and participation. Voting is the first step in engagement and participation, and yet voters are not casting ballots.”

The PDMC survey is currently available on their website, and Spitz states that the PDMC will be launching a door-to-door survey canvass later in the month.

“There’s so much speculation, and that’s why we came up with the idea to do the survey,” she said. “We want to ask people and not add our speculation into the mix. We need to understand the voters’ issues and we have to connect them to the candidates who have a plan to address those issues.”

She added, “Franklin D.Roosevelt said, ‘The greatest threat to democracy is indifference.’ While that was some time ago, it’s relevant today. When everyone says I’m fed up and they don’t vote, terrible things happen, and we know this from history.”

Covello weighed in with an appeal for everybody to get involved and to vote. “We have a two-party system in this country, as imperfect as that may be,” she said. “So when people choose not to vote, then they really should not complain about the outcome. While there is no perfect candidate, it is so important for people to vote and participate in the process. And if people are unhappy with the two-party system, we should work together to change or improve it.”

Mironov promised that the Mercer County Democrats will be working hard to expand voter turnout. “This is a critical year in New Jersey with the election of a new governor and coming in the midst of the daily events out of Washington, D.C.,” she said. “We are very focused on means to increase our voter registrations and to actively outreach and motivate voters.”