This is the first part of a weekly series that focuses on issues related to young voters in the upcoming elections.
Although a number of Boston University students said they acknowledge the importance of the democratic system, a few said they are choosing not to vote in the upcoming elections.
“I’m not planning to vote in the election because of the Electoral College,” said Sam Cheney, a College of Arts and Sciences junior. “My opinion is that in our current system, due to the Electoral College, my vote goes unheard.”
Cheney said neither candidate strongly aligns with issues he cares about.
“I’m just a bit jaded at this point about the whole system,” he said. “But voting is a really important part of our system.”
Douglas Kriner, a political science professor at BU, said often students are preoccupied with other priorities and do not feel informed enough to vote.
“There are also a lot of demands on student time,” he said. “Students’ minds are absorbed in other issues and duties. Following politics sometimes just isn’t at the top of their list of priorities.”
Kriner said students might neglect to register to vote because they are conflicted between voting in Massachusetts and getting an absentee ballot for their home state.
Students were over-represented at the polls in the 2008 presidential elections, according to a report by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Eighty-seven percent of college students between the ages of 18 and 24 who were registered to vote cast a ballot in those elections.
Kriner said he does not anticipate student voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election to be as high as it was in 2008.
“Student voter turnout in 2008 was abnormally high,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll see the same amount of enthusiasm this election period.”
Mara Mellstrom, executive vice president of the BU College Republicans, said students feel skeptical about voting in the election.
“Our day-to-day routine as students is not affected by government directly,” Mellstrom, a CAS junior, said. “Ultimately, we go to class whether or not we have student loan debt or whether welfare programs are fixed.”
Another obstacle hindering student voter turnout is a lack of political knowledge by students, she said.
“I think there’s an unwillingness by students to understand complex policies,” Mellstrom said. “You can ask for a student’s opinion about abortion or gay rights, but not about Romney’s or Obama’s economic plans.”
Students generally do want to get civically involved, said Margarita Diaz, deputy director of communications for the BU College Democrats.
“Students are the most under-mobilized demographic,” Diaz, a CAS senior, said. “That has to do with actually getting students to go out and vote versus being an interest-related thing.”
She said students at BU are interested in the political issues at stake even though she has seen reports by the media of a disengaged youth during this election season.
“Speaking from personal experience, I’d say a lot of students are actually interested,” Diaz said.
Student loans and inflation are issues that students consider important, as they directly affect their demographic.
“Personally, these are the issues that have enticed me to get involved in campaigning,” Diaz said.
Emily Holm, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman, said she is planning to vote because she is passionate about the healthcare issues brought up in the 2012 elections.
“One vote might not seem like it matters in the scheme of things, but it could make a difference if everyone has the mentality to go vote,” she said.
Karim Hanna, a CAS sophomore, said although he did not get around to registering in time for this election, he might vote in future elections.
“I have my opinions, but it’s not enough right now to get me to vote,” he said.
Hanna said if he were to go out and vote, it would probably only be for the presidential election.
“I’d say that I could definitely play a part in electing the president, but I’m not the deciding factor,” he said.
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There’s a very serious election going on here between Warren and Brown that your vote WILL count in. There are also ballot initiatives such as the legalization of medical marijuana that your vote WILL count in. Don’t give in to apathy. You have a chance to make a difference.
Please vote!
You also have the opportunity to get out and volunteer, to convince other people to vote. You are not powerless!