With Nov. 7 less than two weeks away, groups across campus are ensuring that students will cast their vote.
“We consider Wash. U. students part of our base vote,” said senior Aaron Keyak, president of Washington University College Democrats. “We feel that the vast majority of students we turn out will vote for progressive candidates.”
The University College Democrats have spent the past couple of months registering students to vote, and since the registration deadline passed, have been trying to raise awareness of Election Day and the importance of voting. While the group has been registering students regardless of party affiliation, they hope most students will end up voting Democrat.
“If we get students that are not going to vote for us, that is all right,” said Keyak, “but we should get the vote out.”
The College Republicans have not put much effort towards registration, and have instead focused on helping Missouri’s incumbent senator, Jim Talent, beat his Democratic challenger- State Auditor Claire McCaskill.
“We focused on efforts in the outside community,” said junior Stacey Goodwin, president of the University’s Republican chapter. “Us registering voters would not make a difference – not that we don’t care about democracy. The niche has already been filled.”
Goodwin’s group has been reaching out to the surrounding community, canvassing the area for potential Talent supporters and working phone banks at the local campaign office.
Keyak, meanwhile, has kept his group’s post-registration efforts focused on the University.
“Now we are trying to get people aware of absentee voting,” he said. “Letting people know that they should not forget to vote.”
The push for voting has been slower than in 2004 because this year’s cycle only contains midterm contests. Keyak added that students are relatively apathetic due to the perception that this year’s results, with no presidential race, are less meaningful.
“There has not been as much excitement. In non-presidential years it is harder to get people to vote,” he said. “There is a perception that the presidential races are more important, that they are sexier.”
He added, however, that those who are already involved recognize the significance of this year’s ballots.
“People who have volunteered recognize the importance,” said Keyak, whose volunteers are also going to McCaskill’s office. “Anyone who cares about Democratic policies or progressive values needs to work on election days.”
Non-affiliated campus groups are also contributing to the voting push, without necessarily supporting one candidate or the other. One such group is Project Democracy, a non-partisan initiative determined to inform students and bring them to the voting booths.
“Our focus before the registration deadline was getting as many people voting in Missouri as possible, and now the big focus is getting people to vote and getting them to the polls,” said freshman Eric Reis, an activist with Project Democracy. “Its purpose is solely to get people to vote regardless of who or for what they are voting.”
Reis, like Keyak, has had difficulty motivating his peers, in part because they feel reluctant to vote outside of their home state. Reis says that students should be aware of issues affecting Missouri, even if they hail from elsewhere.
“You live here for four years or even more,” said Reis. “When you live here for four years, it is something you should be cognizant of. There are important issues that affect members of the University community and outside of the Wash. U. bubble.”
Despite the widespread nonchalance regarding elections, Keyak hopes students can find something to care about on the next Tuesday.
“We constantly remind the people we are involved with that they must vote on Nov. 7,” he said. “Everybody has a reason to get involved in this election.”