Boston University students have displayed a general apathy towards the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s vacant U.S. Senate seat, with many saying that they will not vote.
Students said they knew very little about the candidates and had not been following the election, which will be held on January 19. Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley faces State Senator Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, for the Senate seat alongside John Kerry.
A main cause of the disinterest, students said, is the lack of campaigning that has been targeted at students and made overtly visible.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Sarah Lattrell said she had encountered very little media coverage of the election.
‘I’ve heard a little bit about it on NPR, but nothing on both of the campaigns,’ Latrell said. ‘I’m registered to vote but I probably won’t. I thought they’d just replace Kennedy with a Democrat.’
CAS sophomore Emma Roose said although she watched one debate during the primary elections, she was not now interested in the election.
‘They all seemed to be arguing the same point,’ Roose said. ‘I have no idea of what’s going on.’
Students from Massachusetts also reported an indifference towards the result of the election, although they would be surprised if Brown won because of the democratic tendencies of the state.
College of General Studies sophomore Dan Mitro said that he has seen limited advertising from both campaigns.
‘I’m registered to vote and I’m from Massachusetts but I don’t know enough on both candidates to decide who I would vote for,’ Mitro said. ‘I liked Coakley on the radio, and I’ve only seen Brown’s campaign posters and sometimes heard him on the radio. I am a bit surprised Brown that is gaining popularity.’
Although students said that they did not see much advertising directly targeted towards college students, those wishing to take part with the election were able to stay involved through outlets such as Facebook.
CAS sophomore Shannon Day, who is from Massachusetts, said that even though she has not followed the election very closely, she learned more about it by subscribing to Scott Brown’s Facebook fan page.
‘I got a lot of Scott Brown messages on Facebook because I signed up to his fan page,’ Day said. ‘I watched the most recent debate and I like Brown because I’m familiar with what he’s saying especially on health care.’
Most students, however, said that if they were to vote they would choose Coakley.
‘I’m for the Democrat . . . which I guess is Coakley,’ Roose said.
Rasmussen Reports President Scott Rasmussen said that turnouts are almost always very low for special elections. However, this election, which follows the death of Sen.Ted Kennedy last August, has garnered much media attention because of the late senator’s high profile.
Discrepancies between various public opinion polls make the outcome of the election difficult to predict. A Boston Globe poll from last Sunday showed Coakley with a lead of 15 percentage points, while a Rasmussen Reports poll reported only a two-point difference on Tuesday.
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