For those students who made their way to the polls Tuesday, it quickly became evident their interest in the primary election this year was not shared by the majority of their classmates.
At the Pyle Center, a District 8 polling place, voter #44 cast his or her ballot at 3 p.m., 8 hours after polls opened. Though busier, the Memorial Union still did not see an overwhelming turnout of voters.
“There were a lot of people in our dorms that were clueless,” UW freshman Jonathan Lipsky said. “There is a high level of voter apathy.”
Although primary elections are known for having lower attendance than general elections, many hoped the tense political atmosphere, due to the tight race between Republican incumbent President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), would spur more interest in the partisan primary elections.
Nevertheless, some University of Wisconsin students did find the primary important enough to cast their vote Tuesday.
“I feel like I am required to vote because I’m a U.S. citizen,” UW junior Joe Provorse said.
Although Provorse might feel obligated to vote, many of his fellow classmates did not share his views on the importance of the primary election. Provorse, however, argues that voting in the primary can often be just as important as going to the polls during the general election.
“It’s how you get to choose who you are going to vote for in the end. You aren’t going to have the choices that you want if you don’t vote for your favored candidate,” Provorse said.
Many of those students who voted are still making the best of the lack of civic engagement among their peers in this September’s primary. Some claim apathy among other young people personally gives them a feeling of greater political efficacy.
“If no one else is going to, then I can do it and it matters,” freshman Allie Hodermann said.
Student groups like the New Voters Project hope to raise the amount of voters in the November general election by using events such as the primaries to raise awareness of civic responsibility.
The non-partisan New Voters Project focuses on helping students learn how to get involved politically and get their voice heard. The Project also seeks to connect with the youth vote and give them the tools they need to cast their votes in the November election.
“Our concentrated events [on Sept. 14] were about awareness and we are encouraging students to get out to vote and register to vote if they hadn’t already,” noted Erica Gary, New Voters Project campus spokesperson.
The group is trying to get students whose interest might have been piqued by news of the primary and its results more politically involved for the general election.
The New Voters project hopes to have 10,000 UW students registered by Oct. 1, and according to Gary, they are well on their way with 4,400 registered already.
