But in an email sent out this weekend to students registered to vote in Cambridge, Leslie portrayed himself primarily as a student advocate.

“I’m running to begin a conversation between students and our city’s leaders,” wrote Leslie. “I will fight to create an unprecedented student advisory committee and provide more opportunities for undergraduates to give back to the city we call home.”

Leslie called on students to head to the polls Tuesday, saying in the email that each of their votes will “truly make a difference.”

‘A SHORT-TERM OPPORTUNITY’

Rajiv Tarigopula ’14, president of the Harvard Republican Club, told The Crimson that, this fall, Leslie approached both the Harvard Republican Club and the Harvard College Democrats seeking endorsements.

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Municipal Voter Turnout

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Presidential and Congressional Voter Turnout

Neither club ultimately chose to endorse anyone in the Council election. But Tarigopula estimated that about 10 members of the Harvard Republican Club have chosen to work for the campaign of Leslie, a registered Republican.

Ki told The Crimson that, this semester, the Harvard College Democrats’ have not been prioritizing local elections. Last year, the Democrats had worked to mobilize the student vote for the Warren senate campaign in the fall and the Markey senate campaign in the spring.

Asked about the obstacles in mobilizing the student vote in local elections, Ki discussed the differences in student interest in the Warren and Markey campaigns.

“People like voting for president and for senatorial races,” Ki said. “We had a Democratic primary for the 5th congressional district to replace Ed Markey and the turnout was a lot lower because I think people are less excited about those types of races, even though I think you can make the argument that...because fewer people are voting and because it’s on a smaller scale, your vote matters more.”

While Ki noted the difficulties that Leslie would face in motivating registered students to head to the polls on Tuesday, others discussed how Leslie was benefiting from a recent increase in the Cambridge’s student voter population—an increase that followed from the 2012 Massachusetts Senate election.

“There might be a short-term opportunity,” Winters said. “There was always a problem that people were registered in Ohio or something.”

The Massachusetts senate race between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren had sustained national attention throughout 2012, as the election’s outcome would have an impact on the Democrats’ power in the Senate.

Perez told The Crimson that the IOP had assisted interested students in switching their voter registration from their home state to Massachusetts. That year, the Harvard College Democrats registered more than 154 students to vote in Massachusetts, with an eye towards the Warren campaign.

The national spotlight on the Warren-Brown race helps explain the uptick in the number of Harvard students who voted in Cambridge during the 2012 election cycle. According to data from the City of Cambridge, 585 people registered in Harvard dorms voted for the 2004 November elections and 385 voters from Harvard dorms did so for the 2008 November elections. But in 2012, 994 people from Harvard dorms cast their ballots in Cambridge.

‘I ACTUALLY LIVE IN NEW YORK’