A poster of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer hangs in Katie Kunitz's dorm room. But it's not just a poster of another pretty face. It's a reminder of Kuntiz's hometown of Eden Prairie, Minn. Kunitz, a College of Arts & Sciences sophomore, but she said she calls Minnesota home. As a result, Kuntiz said she will vote in the Minnesota election by absentee ballot.

Kunitz isn't alone. Many of Marquette's out-of-state students will vote in the November election by an absentee ballot.

Studies show many of these students feel uninformed about and less impacted by the election. According to a 2003 study by the Harvard Institute of Politics, 39 percent of college students planned on voting by absentee ballot, 51 percent would vote at a polling place in the 2004 presidential election. Eleven percent still weren't sure how they would vote. Of these students, 20 percent did not know or were not sure how to locate a polling place and 34 percent were not sure or did not know how to obtain an absentee ballot.

Tom Cassady, a College of Communication sophomore from Wheaton, Ill., said he will vote in the Illinois election through an absentee ballot. Cassady said he feels he is less informed about this year's election than those in the past because he is attending school at Marquette. According to Cassady, he receives sporadic updates from his dad, or gets information on occasional weekend trips home. However, he said he would rather vote in the Illinois election.

"It's my home," Cassady said.

According to Cassady, he feels less impacted by the Illinois election because he is away at school. But Marquette is a private school and as a result the Wisconsin election will make very little difference in his life, Cassady said.

Kuntiz said she agrees.

"(The Minnesota election) has a greater effect on me than the Wisconsin election even though I'm here most of the year," she said. "I wouldn't say I care less about the election, but I would say I'm less involved."

Kunitz said she also feels less informed about the issues, so she will have to do some research on the Internet before voting.

However, not all out-of-state students will be voting absentee.

Kevin Duggan, a junior in the College of Engineering from Ashland, Ky., said he will vote in the Wisconsin election.

"I have no idea what's going in the election in Kentucky," he said. "I feel much more informed up here."

But Duggan does not believe that the election results will have a large impact on him. He said he thinks that many of the issues won't apply to him for a few more years, and he's not sure how much longer he will be living in the area.