The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Student voter turnout decreasing, panel says

With the general election only a week away, the Department of Political Science and Women's Studies Program sponsored a panel discussion Tuesday that urged students to become involved in politics.

Young people vote in dismal numbers, said Janet Boles, a political science professor and member of the panel.

Forty-three percent of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 were registered to vote in the last election, and only 36 percent of voters in that age group actually voted.

The number of young voters have decreased since 1971 when the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18, she said at "2004 Student Vote: Factor or Fizzle?"

Boles said young people grew up in a less political era, were not as properly socialized to voting behavior and came of age during the 1980s and '90s, when government became the problem instead of the solution.

Young people are usually single, in college or the military, training for jobs, not yet parents or homeowners and are generally "in transition," she said. They are less likely to identify with a party and participate in campaigns.

This year, 34 percent of young voters said they were paying close attention to the election. The issues most important to them included the war in Iraq and the economy.

The lecture was moderated by Diane Hoeveler, an English professor and the coordinator for the Women's Studies Progra.

Emily Reinhardt, Marquette coordinator for the New Voters Project, encouraged young people to be active so politicians speak of young persons' issues.

"We cannot make politicians pay attention to us unless we give them a reason to," Reinhardt said.

The New Voters Project has registered over 130,000 voters in Wisconsin, 2,400 Marquette students and 330,000 voters nationwide, she said. Now the program wants to make sure the newly registered voters go to the polls.

Marina Dimitrijevic, a Marquette graduate and the youngest woman ever to be elected to the Milwaukee County Board, echoed Reinhardt's call to vote.

"Vote and consider running for office or doing something out of the ordinary," she said. "We can be the next leaders in the future."

Jean Grow, assistant professor in advertising and public relations, focused on campaign advertising.

"The 2004 presidential campaign has been perhaps the most bitter and expensive campaign ever," Grow said.

This is due to the seriousness of the issues at hand, voter opinion, a cluttered media and loopholes in campaign spending.

She said the advertisements revolve around fear tactics.

The talks were followed by a question-and-answer section, during which Grow said young people are often ignored by politicians because they don't vote as much and are not a risk to politicians.

Leo Studach, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, attended the event and said he found Dimitrijevic's talk especially interesting because it "shows you can get in the trenches of government and make a difference."

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