Rachel McClurg
Editor-in-Chief
Voting can be one of the easiest ways for students to have their voices heard, yet hardly any actually makes an effort to vote on election day.
“Local offices and issues have a direct impact on a student’s home and college community,” campusvoteproject.org writes. “Officials make decisions on topics like student debt, funding for higher education and the economy.”
The fact that less college students are voting could also have something to do with how different the generations are. According to campusvoteproject.org, only 42 percent of 18-24 year-olds were registered to vote, which is the lowest in 40 years.
“Yes, I did [vote in college],” Professor of Chemistry Robert Carlson said. “I just felt like that’s what you had to do to stand up for what you believe. I don’t think you can argue with politics and politicians if you don’t vote. You can’t complain if you don’t vote.”
College students today do not seem as interested or motivated to vote or register to vote as those in past generations. If they are motivated to vote, meeting the deadline to register can become an issue.
“No, [I am not voting because] I missed the deadline to register,” sophomore and theatre education major Jacqueline Chacon said. “[I would vote for] Laura Kelly because she has some really good views on our education system and knows that our children are our priority.”
College students attribute failing to register to vote because of missing deadlines, failing to know where to register or failing to know how to register, according to campusvoteproject.org.
“Even though I plan on voting, I don’t think it’s necessarily important for college students to vote,” sophomore and education major Blake Buchman said. “I think it would be good and that college students should at least start paying attention to politics, but college students don’t have much spare time and if they don’t know anything about the candidates then I don’t think they should vote.”
With voting also comes educating oneself on each party and each candidate. Having an open mind on politics can help make it an easier process.
“I also believe we gotta be able to listen to both sides with an open mind too no matter what parties, [or] where you stand and personally I don’t think that’s what’s happening now,” Carlson said.
Some students that plan on voting have mentioned the importance of researching the candidates before making a decision on who to vote for.
“I researched the candidates some,” Buchman said. “Not as much as I probably should, but I will continue to research. I have researched enough about them though that I know who I want to vote for and why I want to vote for them. I will continue to research them as the election gets closer.”
The next major election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 6 2018.
