Members of the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) said yesterday that candidates may have tried to influence the election's outcome by encouraging non-club members, including some Democrats, to vote in Wednesday's elections,

The tactic does not violate the group's rules, but club leaders said the strategy could damage the club by giving non-Republicans a say in the club's leadership. Several said they will try to change club rules to prohibit those techniques in the future.

Robert R. Porter '02, the incoming president, said last night that he had encouraged non-club members to join in order to vote, but said he targeted only those who shared his Republican beliefs.

Erin L. Sheley '02, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president in an unofficial partnership with Porter, wrote an e-mail message to the staff of the Harvard Political Review (HPR)

encouraging non-Republicans to join the club by its Nov. 29 deadline in order to vote for her in the election. But she said she did so only after club members told her other candidates were using similar tactics.

"You could look at this as a means of keeping more conservative Republicans out of office," Sheley wrote in her e-mail message soliciting votes. She describes herself as "almost unacceptably moderate" to most club members.

"The thought of stooping to that level has been offensive enough that I've refused to consider it up until now, but I've come to the conclusion that the only way to avoid getting screwed out of my place is to sacrifice my moral [principles]," she wrote in the appeal.

Sheley said she later decided the tactics were unacceptable.