by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
Students' votes in Tuesday's elections could have a big impact, said Michael Rocca, a political science professor at UNM.
"We're in a really unique spot here in the nation, because it's such a close race," he said. "While one person's vote may not break a tie, one person's vote matters a lot more than someone that's heavily Democrat or heavily
Republican."
According to an Albuquerque Journal poll published Sunday, 49 percent of voters favor Democratic candidate Patricia Madrid and 45 percent favor Republican incumbent Heather Wilson for the 1st Congressional District.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Rocca said voters will decide more than who wins that race.
"They can determine the outcome of who controls Congress, which is really what's at stake here," he said. "That can have a huge impact on how the country is run."
Student David Padilla said he is going to vote.
"A lot of people in this country complain about how the country is being run or about the people in power," he said. "I'm one of those people. I feel like if I'm going to have the right to complain, I need to vote."
About 40 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the 2004
elections, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Tim Krebs, a political science professor, said there are several reasons for low turnout of young voters.
"If you look at the numbers, you can draw the conclusion that
people are apathetic, and they don't care, and they don't know about the issues," he said. "But there are other factors that influence that."
It can be a hassle for students to vote because they move and have to register again, he said. Students are not as involved in many of the issues politicians discuss, he said.
"They're not in their careers," he said. "They're not facing the issues related to taxation. They don't own property. They don't have families. All that makes it seem like a lot of the domestic issues don't relate to them."
If more young people voted, politicians would be more likely to address their concerns,
he said.
"It's sort of a chicken-and-egg question," he said. "Do young people not vote because candidates aren't addressing them, or are candidates not addressing them because they don't vote?"
Student Lindsey Ortiz said she is not going to vote.
"I don't really like any of the candidates, so I don't want to support them," she said. "It's probably not the correct message to send, but I'm also just lazy."
Rocca said students care about the government.
"There's a common misperception that students are apathetic and inattentive, but I don't think that's true," he said. "I think if they're given a reason to vote, they will go out
and vote."
Krebs said there is no excuse to not vote.
"The war in Iraq - which is the No. 1 issue in this campaign - is important to young people," he said. "If war is not important enough to get you to vote, I'm not sure what's going to be good enough."
