This year’s ASUO elections, marred by grievances and low voter turnout, are nothing new, many political science professors say, blaming a lack of student interest and not enough time.
“Students are too distracted by being students,” said Jerry Medler, an associate professor of political science.
He said students usually vote less than the general population, and this year’s ASUO election is no different than in years past.
This year’s election was geared to get students voting, with an expanded four-day primary instead of the usual one-day primary. But this year’s voter turnout indicates many students failed to notice the change, as roughly only 9 percent voted during the four-day span.
Mikhail Myagkov, an associate professor of political science, said he has never seen an election run this way before, with so many days to vote.
He said he would expect voter turnout to increase when the amount of time students had to vote expanded, and was surprised to hear the percentage was so low.
This year’s voting also took place exclusively on Duck Web, the online resource for students that is normally used for class registration and transcript orders.
Max Brown, a political science graduate teaching fellow, said the voting follows the nationwide trend. He said he has not followed the ASUO election as well as he should. But, he said, the voting on Duck Web may be one contributing factor to the low turnout.
“There are so many problems with online voting,” he said.
Brown said a lack of accessibility to Duck Web because of a shortage of available computers for students may be one factor affecting voter turnout. He also cited problems with the system, where a high user count could slow down the voting process, as another possible reason for the low turnout.
Myagkov said voting by mail could be a better system than online voting.
“[Online voting] has never been tested to a credible degree,” he said, adding that the 2000 presidential election is proof that voting by mail is a viable and effective way for voters to voice their opinions.
With the general elections certain to happen during spring term, Brown said turnout may increase if there is a renewed interest in the ASUO. But, he said, it could also decrease, as students may feel the situation is hopeless and not care anymore because of this year’s election controversies. He said there is no way to know what may occur.
Myagkov said despite all the factors that can influence an election, interest in the issues is what propels students to vote.
“Voters don’t think the issues are important to them,” he said.
Adding controversy to issues can help attract interest to the issues and inspire more people to form an opinion and vote, Myagkov said.
“They do vote because they like to be heard,” Myagkov said. “But the main thing is making the issues look important.”
He said students will not vote if they do not discuss it amongst themselves, and it is important to remind them constantly about the issues at hand.
“Voters have short memories,” he said.