2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial: Students' electoral excuses alter vote
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Opinion
The election is a little more than a month away.
National and local candidates will appear on the ballot, all of which operate as equally imperative parts of the government. The California youth - ages 18 to 29 - turnout to the polls for the 2000 presidential primaries was 574,807, according to CIRCLE. The nonprofit research center recorded that 852,459 voted this February.
The upcoming election has a massive impact on the future state of the country. Even so, many students can find excuses to avoid punching in their votes.
Procrastination
"Come Election Day, there are a lot of people who want to vote and they can't," said Aaron Skaggs, the president of the Student Democratic Club, referring to people who procrastinate to register - and then it is too late.
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20. That gives you 20 days to fill out a form that takes five minutes. The Democratic and Republican clubs have booths in the Free Speech Area with voter registration forms.
And to make it easier on everyone, the Chico State Republicans is hosting a free barbecue on the Butte Hall Lawn from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the members will help people sign up to vote, said A.J. Kuck, president of Chico State Republicans.
"We're really stressing to students to get involved in local elections," he said.
Cynicism
Politicians, on average, are old. As a result, younger generations often feel disenfranchised by the government. Furthermore, the Electoral College system leaves students feeling like their votes are ultimately worthless. However, city- and state-level elections directly influence Butte County because candidates' political careers depend on listening to the public.
The Chico City Council makes decisions regarding law enforcement, allocates funds to public organizations and deals with issues facing the community. Take, for example, the Disorderly Events Ordinance, which raised concern with many students who fought to get it amended. And they won.
'I'm too busy'
This excuse is completely unacceptable. Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m, which gives voters ample time to cast their ballots. There is even a polling place in Bell Memorial Union, where many students living in the vicinity qualify to vote. And if you don't want to actually go outside on Election Day, you can send in an absentee ballot. Requests for the mail-in ballot must be received by Oct. 28 - the actual ballot deadline is 8 p.m. Nov. 4. To learn more about voting absentee, visit longdistancevoter.org.
Complaining about the acts of government without playing an active role in providing any change implicitly condones it. In 2006, there were 41.9 million 18- to 29-year-old citizens in the U.S., or 21 percent of the overall electorate, according to the Census Bureau. One-fifth of the vote carries a lot of weight. And by not voting, our voices go unheard, and the wants of the population are not fairly represented.
"If students don't vote," Skaggs said, "then the accuracy of the vote is in question."
Editorial Board
Genny McLaren, Managing Editor
Katy Sweeny, News Editor
Megan Wilson, Opinion Editor
Connor Ramey, Sports Editor
Kenna Hunt, Entertainment Editor
Nicole Williams, Features Editor
Elysse Bonner, Photo Editor
Walter Foley, Chief Copy Editor
Elizabeth Varin, Online Editor
Roody Vazquez, Video Editor
National and local candidates will appear on the ballot, all of which operate as equally imperative parts of the government. The California youth - ages 18 to 29 - turnout to the polls for the 2000 presidential primaries was 574,807, according to CIRCLE. The nonprofit research center recorded that 852,459 voted this February.
The upcoming election has a massive impact on the future state of the country. Even so, many students can find excuses to avoid punching in their votes.
Procrastination
"Come Election Day, there are a lot of people who want to vote and they can't," said Aaron Skaggs, the president of the Student Democratic Club, referring to people who procrastinate to register - and then it is too late.
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20. That gives you 20 days to fill out a form that takes five minutes. The Democratic and Republican clubs have booths in the Free Speech Area with voter registration forms.
And to make it easier on everyone, the Chico State Republicans is hosting a free barbecue on the Butte Hall Lawn from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the members will help people sign up to vote, said A.J. Kuck, president of Chico State Republicans.
"We're really stressing to students to get involved in local elections," he said.
Cynicism
Politicians, on average, are old. As a result, younger generations often feel disenfranchised by the government. Furthermore, the Electoral College system leaves students feeling like their votes are ultimately worthless. However, city- and state-level elections directly influence Butte County because candidates' political careers depend on listening to the public.
The Chico City Council makes decisions regarding law enforcement, allocates funds to public organizations and deals with issues facing the community. Take, for example, the Disorderly Events Ordinance, which raised concern with many students who fought to get it amended. And they won.
'I'm too busy'
This excuse is completely unacceptable. Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m, which gives voters ample time to cast their ballots. There is even a polling place in Bell Memorial Union, where many students living in the vicinity qualify to vote. And if you don't want to actually go outside on Election Day, you can send in an absentee ballot. Requests for the mail-in ballot must be received by Oct. 28 - the actual ballot deadline is 8 p.m. Nov. 4. To learn more about voting absentee, visit longdistancevoter.org.
Complaining about the acts of government without playing an active role in providing any change implicitly condones it. In 2006, there were 41.9 million 18- to 29-year-old citizens in the U.S., or 21 percent of the overall electorate, according to the Census Bureau. One-fifth of the vote carries a lot of weight. And by not voting, our voices go unheard, and the wants of the population are not fairly represented.
"If students don't vote," Skaggs said, "then the accuracy of the vote is in question."
Genny McLaren, Managing Editor
Katy Sweeny, News Editor
Megan Wilson, Opinion Editor
Connor Ramey, Sports Editor
Kenna Hunt, Entertainment Editor
Nicole Williams, Features Editor
Elysse Bonner, Photo Editor
Walter Foley, Chief Copy Editor
Elizabeth Varin, Online Editor
Roody Vazquez, Video Editor
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Pam
posted 10/02/08 @ 10:42 AM PST
I would encourage not only voting, but getting really informed about what your voting for. Ballot measures often times sound just peachy, until you look into the text of them. (Continued…)
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