Despite Marquette Student Government’s continual efforts to promote its latest election, apathy still reigns at the voting booth.

Only 24.8 percent of eligible students turned out to vote in the election for the 2010-’11 school year. A total of 1,795 ballots were cast, a 28.6 percent drop from last year.

Jonathan Giel, MUSG financial vice president, believes voter turnout was low because there were only two registered presidential tickets.

“Because there were only two tickets, there was not enough buzz in comparison to previous years when you have two heavy days of campaign,” said Giel, a senior in the College of Business Administration.

Some students say they were caught off guard by the election this year.

“The election seemed to creep up on everybody — like there was a lack of advertising,” said Leah Todd, a sophomore in the College of Communication.

Some students believe MUSG should emphasize voicing student opinions. But others say MUSG is not influential in expressing student needs.

“I think the election matters, but only to a certain extent,” said Kyle Willkom, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration. “I don’t feel the president of MUSG has the ability to make huge differences on campus.”

Willkom cites the issues with Sodexo as reasons for student apathy toward MUSG.

“Everyone knew about the MUSG vote to dissolve Marquette’s contract with Sodexo, yet we are still eating Sodexo,” he said, referring to MUSG’s Nov. 19 recommendation that the university seek another food vendor. “If people don’t think MUSG can make a real difference, they will have no motivation to vote for the leader of it.”

Other students disagree on the reasons for the minimal number of voters.

Devin Curda, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, believes more advertising is needed to promote the election. He also said more campaigning should be required so students can get a better feel for the candidates.

Giel also said students were unable to write in candidates for senators, a first after the MUSG Senate passed the election reform in December 2009.

“(The reform) was not in the best interest of the students,” Giel said. “In previous elections, there are quite a few write-in candidates, which results in a more competitive race, which boosts turnout.”

Marquette Student Government’s low number of votes is close to other Wisconsin schools in recent years.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s spring 2009 elections for its student government, Associated Students of Madison, had a voter turnout of 8.3 percent, although that was 3 percentage points higher than the 2008 election turnout.

The 2010 ASM election will take place online from April 12 to 14.

Similarly, only 2,045 ballots were cast in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee spring 2009 elections. However, this was nearly double the number of votes cast in 2008.

MUSG made numerous attempts to remind students to vote, including handing out fliers and creating a Facebook event.

Additionally, the organization’s newsletter, The MUSG Voice, attempts to update students on what MUSG is doing on a regular basis.

“Through the voice, the student body can understand the importance of MUSG and hopefully elect people who can continue to lead and make a positive impact on the entire Marquette community,” Giel said.

Although the Voice is distributed outside Raynor Library about once a month and was inserted into some copies of The Marquette Tribune just before the election, some students said they feel this outreach effort is not enough.

“I do not feel like students are well-informed as to what is accomplished through MUSG,” said Elizabeth Rice, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences. “As the voice of the students, I believe it would be fair to enlighten the student body on a more regular basis.”

Rice suggested using online formats, such as Facebook events and more e-mails, to increase the number of voters.