An unprecedented number of voters turned out for last week’s Institute of Politics (IOP) elections, choosing candidates that plan to work more closely with Harvard’s campus groups while continuing the national outreach program the IOP began last year.

Around 110 students squeezed into Littauer 150 at the Kennedy School of Government last Thursday, with about an additional 30 students voting by absentee ballot, according to outgoing IOP Treasurer Emily L. Nielson ’04.

IOP members elected Ilan T. Graff ’05 as president and Naomi M. Ages ’05 as vice-president.

Graff and Ages said they will focus on encouraging campus groups to use civic engagement as a means of activism.

“We want to see a changed relationship with the campus, breaking down barriers to involvement and increased partnerships with anyone who sees politics as a way to make a positive difference,” Graff said.

This is only the fourth time the IOP has elected its president. Before, the executive was selected by the Student Advisory Committee (SAC), not the IOP as a whole, explained outgoing IOP President Peter P. Buttigieg ’04.

Graff and Ages defeated the ticket of Brian M. Goldsmith ’05 and Jonathan S. Chavez ’05.

Chavez and Goldsmith said they plan to remain involved in the IOP, but noted that they harbored a different vision for the organization’s future.

“We thought the IOP needed a better sense of membership, a more defined understanding of what it is to be a member,” Chavez said. “Membership of the IOP means nothing right now.”

But Buttigieg said he is confident that the new president, vice president and treasurer of the organization will be strong leaders.

“They have lots of exciting new ideas and the energy to see it through,” he said.

Fast Forward to the Future

The new executives said they have ambitious goals in the year ahead.

Graff cited two main outreach focuses for next year.

He said he hopes to help forge partnerships with other campus groups—such as Harvard Right to Life and Harvard Students for Choice—to inspire them to use politics as a way of addressing and solving their concerns.