Mansfield Republican Town Committee Chairman Aaron Bowman raised concerns about the distribution of door flyers promoting Democratic candidates ahead of midterm elections in University of Connecticut residence halls at a Town Council meeting on Oct. 26.
“Students should not have to risk their standing at the university because a political committee wants materials distributed,” Bowman said.
Bowman said the reported distribution of the flyers appeared inconsistent with the requirements of university policy.
In an interview with The Daily Campus Thursday, Mansfield Democratic Town Committee Chairman and Mansfield Mayor Ben Shaiken said the flyers were printed by the Mansfield Democratic Town Committee for students to distribute. He said that there are always groups of students volunteering on democratic campaigns.
“This is what campaigns are,” Shaiken said. “You have to communicate with voters.”
Bowman and Chris Coyle, a Republican State Central Committee Representative for the 29th district, wrote a letter to the university regarding the matter.
Vice President for Student Life and Enrollment Nathan Fuerst responded to Bowman and Coyle on behalf of UConn President Radenka Maric.
Fuerst said the university policy allows students and candidates to post materials in residence halls on certain days and times if approved. This includes political campaign literature that may support a particular party or candidate.
“As a university and a public institution in the State of Connecticut, UConn is proudly and fervently non-partisan,” Fuerst wrote. “This does not mean that normal political activism and activities cannot exist on our campuses or within our student body if it is done in accordance with our rules.”
Shaiken said that the Mansfield Democratic Town Committee has a long-standing record of following UConn’s policy, and this year is no different.
Fuerst said the rules are applied the same for everyone, regardless of the candidate, ideology or political affiliation.
Both this year and in 2024, UConn has only received canvassing requests from its students, Fuerst said.
He also said that because students live in university residence halls and have key-card access, it is possible that some may distribute materials, political or otherwise, outside of the university’s process and without its knowledge.
Shaiken said the flyers also included general information about the election to inform voters regardless of whether or not they are voting for Democratic candidates.
He also said it is difficult to reach students on campus by mail. Instead, he said the flyers served as a “door-to-door” attempt to reach voters.
Shaiken said Republicans are welcome to campaign on UConn’s campus, as they have done in the past, noting that the undergraduate population of UConn makes up a substantial portion of the population in the surrounding political districts.
“I am sort of consistently flabbergasted that it is such an issue for Republicans that Democrats might have the gall to ask people to vote for them when they’re running a campaign,” he said.