The Boston area saw only small amounts of voters in yesterday’s primary election, despite Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin’s prediction on Monday of an elevated turnout.

Those casting their votes had strong sentiments about this year’s state primary election. Nicqi Feldman, an Emerson College student, stood outside Jackson Mann Community School in Allston yesterday as a last-minute campaigner for Warren Tolman, one of the five gubernatorial candidates.

A self-described “Tol-maniac,” Nicqi said she believes the lack of voters and student apathy are due to a misunderstanding.

“People don’t know that they can register to vote in Massachusetts even if they are not residents,” she said.

Pat Landry, the electoral warden stationed at the voting booths at Boston University’s Myles Standish Hall said she was appalled by the lack of interest shown by Boston’s student population. She estimated that less than 5 percent of the voters that came through her precinct were Boston University students.

“Student citizens should be ashamed,” she said, explaining most of the voters she saw were elderly or immigrants. Everyone living in Boston should take an interest in Massachusetts politics, she said.

At Jackson Mann Community School in Allston, voter turnout was similarly low. Campaign signs posted outside the entrance outnumbered the amount of voters walking into the ballot booths.

“This year’s primaries have seen record campaign spending which may raise the voter turnout somewhat,” Galvin said in Monday’s press release.

Some candidates have turned to negative campaigning in order to sway voters away from their opponents. Karen Parker, an Allston voter, said negative ads have the opposite effect, making her seek more information about the candidate under attack.

“Everyone makes mistakes. I look for the positive things they’ve done,” she said.

The media coverage surrounding election time serves as an aide in determining the best candidate, said Dale Bane, also an Allston resident, who explained that media campaigns helped her decide to vote for Tom Birmingham in yesterday’s election.