With the election less than two weeks away, campus political groups are making a final push to get out the vote in California’s most hotly contested congressional races.

Since September, the Stanford Democrats have registered over 125 students with a campus-wide get-out-the-vote program. The group’s president, senior Bobby Lepore, said that the group will join campus Democrats from Sacramento State University, Chico State University, UC-Davis and UC-Berkeley in a door-to-door canvassing effort to rally young progressive voters in the state’s highly competitive 11th District, which includes Stockton and San Ramon. With this district’s Republican incumbent Richard Pombo mired in scandal, Lepore said that Democrats have more than a fighting chance to pick up this seat.

“Given that control of the House is currently separated by a mere fifteen seats, it’s a great opportunity for students to have a real impact on the direction of our national policy,” Lepore said. “Regardless of one’s political persuasion, the outcome of this race matters for everyone in America.”

The Democrats also plan to create a voter guide to help students navigate the complexities of this year’s ballot propositions and host upcoming events that will educate voters.

“The Dems feel that if everyone has the information, they’ll vote for change and help us win back the House,” said sophomore Beth D’Aunno, field director for the campus Democrats.

In contrast, the Stanford College Republicans (SCR) were absent at this year’s Activities Fair and have not held a meeting since the spring (they plan to hold a recruitment meeting Monday, eight days before the election).

SCR President Megan Reiss, a senior, said that she regrets the lack of liberal-conservative discourse on campus due to the void left by the SCR’s inactivity.

“There really hasn’t’ been a conservative voice,” said Reiss. “There was sort of a duck thing going on last year because we were all so busy, and the Republicans just stopped being active.”

The organization hopes to re-energize conservative activism on campus with a kick-off event on Veteran’s Day, which it hopes to co-sponsor with the chapter from Santa Clara University. Reiss also envisioned a night in late November or early December for students interested in obtaining political internships.

Nevertheless, Reiss is concerned that SCR’s slow start may hamper opportunities to recruit conservative students.

“Freshmen don’t even know we exist, and that’s going to be a challenge,” she added.

While the Republican-Democrat divide on campus has been muted, Stanford Students for Choice and Stanford Students for Life (SSFL) are vocally at odds over Proposition 85, which would amend California’s constitution to prohibit minors from obtaining an abortion without parental notification.

Meanwhile, SSFL is working alongside local community organizations and churches to help muster support for the proposed measure.

“Prop 85 is not a pro-life or a pro-choice issue, and it’s not about whether abortion is right or wrong,” said sophomore Mary Ho, president of SSFL. “Prop 85 is about parental rights and keeping young girls safe.”

Campus pro-choice activists have spearheaded opposition to the measure with Students for Choice. They hosted a party at the Women’s Center last week to galvanize opposition to Proposition 85, to portray the debate over the proposition as a debate over a woman’s right to choose.

Junior Mishan Araujo, co-president of Students for Choice, said that Prop 85 is obviously an abortion issue because those who support it share the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. Parental notification, she argued, would also jeopardize students’ safety.

“When teens are limited in their options for making healthy decisions, they often take drastic measures that can endanger their health,” she said. “What we need to do is give them access to safe medical care. This proposition would put the most vulnerable teens who come from abusive families at serious risk.”

Volunteers from the University’s NAACP chapter handed out ballot information and registered voters last Sunday at the Saint Samuel Church of God and Christ in East Palo Alto. Co-president Desiree Cormier, a senior, said the event was a success and that the NAACP plans to host a registration drive this Sunday at another church in East Palo Alto or Redwood City.

The organization also hopes to reach out to the broader University community and encourage voters from all political stripes and backgrounds to vote, Cormier added.

The group wants to mediate a debate over ballot initiatives between the Stanford Democrats and Stanford College Republicans. Although the Democrats are on board, the event is in limbo because the Republicans have yet to respond to NAACP organizers, Cormier said.

Although opinions diverge on the issues, campus activists largely share the same goal — getting people to vote. The NAACP, which recently celebrated the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was especially adamant about this issue.

“It’s not that this election is more or less important than any other election,” Cormier said. “It’s that we need to go out and exercise a right that many people fought and died for.”