The Wake

This fall many college students have a chance to vote in a presidential election for the first time. But will they be voting here at the “U”? A national poll by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics found that 62 percent of college students say they will “definitely” vote this November. The last two presidential elections have each brought in almost 18 million young voters, fewer than in previous years, according to the US Census.

Some campus political groups, such as Students for Bush, are waiting until school gets started before they really get their campaigns underway. Marty Andrade, president of the group, says they plan on going door to door in the dorms near the end of September, once most of the students get settled into their routines.

Andrade feels that if more young people voted the candidates would direct their campaigns towards our age group.

Because Minnesota is a swing state, the election could be determined by a small margin of votes. “If we have a good Republican turnout among students — that’s 4,000 to 5,000 votes,” Andrade said. He says those votes are important as it could be enough to make a difference.

Sophomore Nick Schnoes feels that it is important for young people to vote, but many of them don’t because they think their vote won’t make an impact. Schnoes says that if young people aren’t voting, they shouldn’t be complaining about how our country is being run. “If you don’t vote, you have to deal with what other people decide,” he said. Schnoes, a sophomore, is registered to vote and plans to have his parents pick him up so he can vote in his home district on Election Day.

Freshman Paul Enberg says he will probably vote this November, although he hasn’t decided who for. One of his biggest concerns in this election is the national security, but he doesn’t think many of his peers are concerned with the issues. If Enberg votes, he said he will go home to Chanhassen, where he is registered.

Although some university students are able to go home to vote, others find it easier to vote on campus. Freshman Bijan Bader is from Woodbury, and although he is registered in his hometown, he plans to vote on campus because it will be more convenient for him. Many students don’t know that this is an option.

In 1979 the Supreme Court ruled that students must be allowed to register to vote using their college residence addresses. Students living here on campus only have to go as far as Coffman Union to cast their ballots. They can also register to vote, if they haven’t already, since Minnesota is one of only a handful of states that allow same-day voter registration.

Some students would rather vote in their hometown via absentee ballot. Elizabeth Nelson, a freshman from Wisconsin, has already obtained her absentee ballot. She voted in the democratic primary and is looking forward to voting in her first presidential election. Growing up, Nelson realized the importance of voting and always encouraged her parents to vote. “One vote can make a difference,” she said. This is especially true in her home state, where the margin of victory in the 2000 elections was only 5,708 votes.

Nelson’s friend Kelly Oppitz, also a freshman from Wisconsin, says she used to think voting was useless, but has recently realized that her vote does count. Oppitz also plans on voting in her hometown by absentee ballot.

Nelson and Oppitz cite campaigns such as Rock the Vote for making this election more visible and accessible to young people. Rock the Vote, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, aims to make political participation appeal to young people by engaging actors, musicians, athletes, and comedians in their media campaigns.

Rock the Vote has already had more than 500,000 people use their website to fill out voter registration forms.

The Bush and Kerry campaigns are both doing their part to reach a younger generation of voters. Both campaign websites have special sections urging young people to get involved in the upcoming election, and both have student groups on campuses across the country vying for the student vote.

When it comes down to it, the majority of students agreed that as long as you exercise your right to vote, it doesn’t matter who you vote for. “You have a say — you might as well use it,” Enberg said.