College voter turnout for CA primary
UPDATE 06/05/18 6:15PM When it comes to voter turnout, college aged students don’t exactly score a great grade.
In the primary election in 2014, less than 25 percent of voters younger than 34 went to the polls.
Most students we spoke with today did decide to take part in this primary election, but they say overall they see a lot of their peers opting out.
“I believe that if everyone would actually get up and go to the poll and put into their voice that we could actually make a difference, unfortunately a lot of times that isn’t the case and people aren’t really showing up,” says student Sophie Blake.
There’s actually a voting center in the middle of the UCSC campus, and while there was a steady flow of students going in and out, some say it’s not nearly as busy as it should be.
“It’s such an active campus and people here care about certain issues very much so it’s surprising to see a polling place that doesn’t have a lot of voters in it,” says student William O’connor.
19-year-old Marleena Sonico says one of the main reasons for that is because…”candidates are kind of tailoring their campaigns particularly to the older crowd who are showing up to actually vote so the students needs aren’t necessarily being heard because we’re not coming out.”
Another reason, “it’s something that’s not promoted enough and maybe that’s part of the reason why it’s one of the, in terms of demographics, people my age college students have some of the least turn out,” says O’Connor.
In 2014 only 23.1% of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 34 voted in the primary election.
Students KION spoke with who are opting not to vote this year say it’s either because they did not register, or do not know enough about the measures, propositions or candidates.
“I just don’t feel like I know enough about everyone to decide. But I know I should, so maybe I should just read up on it a little bit,” says student Ashley Pedersen.
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When it comes to voter turnout, college aged students don’t exactly score a great grade.
In the primary election in 2014, less than 25 percent of voters younger than 34 went to the polls.
Most students we spoke with today did decide to take part in this primary election, but they say overall they see a lot of their peers opting out.
“I believe that if everyone would actually get up and go to the poll and put into their voice that we could actually make a difference, unfortunately a lot of times that isn’t the case and people aren’t really showing up,” says student Sophie Blake.
There’s actually a voting center in the middle of the UCSC campus, and while there was a steady flow of students going in and out, some say it’s not nearly as busy as it should be.
“It’s such an active campus and people here care about certain issues very much so it’s surprising to see a polling place that doesn’t have a lot of voters in it,” says student William O’conner.
19-year-old Marleena Sonico says one of the main reasons for that is because…”candidates are kind of tailoring their campaigns particularly to the older crowd who are showing up to actually vote so the students needs aren’t necessarily being heard because we’re not coming out.”
KION’s Ashley Keehn will have this story at 5 and 6.
