Low voter interest in off-year election among VCU students
Sarah Sonies - Contributing Writer
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
Last year, the 2008 presidential election had a high voter turnout among students all over the nation, but in yesterday's election energy on campus was not nearly as high, with many VCU students deciding to avoid the polls.
"I would've had to go home to vote … I didn't change my voting location to Richmond," said Ellie Cronin, a fashion merchandising major. "I didn't really even think about it until today. It sounds terrible but school has been consuming me, and (voting) got pushed to the back of my priority list."
Other students said they were undecided voters and did not want to make an uninformed decision.
"I didn't really know who to believe. There were so many ads and campaigns that slurred my opinion. I didn't want to vote for the wrong person," said Elizabeth Lucas, a psychology major.
Lee Vogler, a political science major and staffer for McDonnell's campaign said he noticed voter interest was a lot lower this year.
"VCU is a more democratically leaning campus and it just doesn't seem like Democrats in general were that excited about (Sen. Creigh) Deeds," Vogler said. "It seems like it is the reverse of last year where (President Barack) Obama's campaign had a lot of enthusiasm and not so much for (Sen. John) McCain."
According to The Associated Press' exit polls, nearly a third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents.
Gonzalo Aida, the vice president of communication for VCU Young Democrats, said another reason for the apparent student apathy toward this year's state elections was that there was little knowledge of the election.
"Many didn't even know there was an election … That's the biggest problem we encountered," stated Aida in an e-mail. "There is also a lot of apathy because of voter fatigue, which is always an issue in Virginia due to our off-year elections."
Voter "burnout" from the 2008 presidential election could also be at fault.
"The excitement last year has drained many people, so they've let this year fall underneath their radar," said political science major Darrell Coffey.
Delegate Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said the "burnout" was part of why youth were indifferent about Virginia's elections.
"It's hard because the campaign season kicked off right as students were coming back to school and we didn't really have the kind of build up we had last year," McClellan said.
"I would've had to go home to vote … I didn't change my voting location to Richmond," said Ellie Cronin, a fashion merchandising major. "I didn't really even think about it until today. It sounds terrible but school has been consuming me, and (voting) got pushed to the back of my priority list."
Other students said they were undecided voters and did not want to make an uninformed decision.
"I didn't really know who to believe. There were so many ads and campaigns that slurred my opinion. I didn't want to vote for the wrong person," said Elizabeth Lucas, a psychology major.
Lee Vogler, a political science major and staffer for McDonnell's campaign said he noticed voter interest was a lot lower this year.
"VCU is a more democratically leaning campus and it just doesn't seem like Democrats in general were that excited about (Sen. Creigh) Deeds," Vogler said. "It seems like it is the reverse of last year where (President Barack) Obama's campaign had a lot of enthusiasm and not so much for (Sen. John) McCain."
According to The Associated Press' exit polls, nearly a third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents.
Gonzalo Aida, the vice president of communication for VCU Young Democrats, said another reason for the apparent student apathy toward this year's state elections was that there was little knowledge of the election.
"Many didn't even know there was an election … That's the biggest problem we encountered," stated Aida in an e-mail. "There is also a lot of apathy because of voter fatigue, which is always an issue in Virginia due to our off-year elections."
Voter "burnout" from the 2008 presidential election could also be at fault.
"The excitement last year has drained many people, so they've let this year fall underneath their radar," said political science major Darrell Coffey.
Delegate Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said the "burnout" was part of why youth were indifferent about Virginia's elections.
"It's hard because the campaign season kicked off right as students were coming back to school and we didn't really have the kind of build up we had last year," McClellan said.
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