Student elections suffer low turnouts

By Gwen Daniels

Published Nov. 30, 2007

Voter apathy plagued MU during this year's student body elections.

According to a report issued by the Board of Elections Commissioners, 3,950 students voted in the Missouri Students Association election.

The number represents about 18 percent of the undergraduate student body at MU.

BEC Chairwoman Amanda Morlock said she was not surprised by the turnout.

"Unfortunately, I think it goes along with the stereotype of the apathetic college student who doesn't vote in the U.S. presidential elections," Morlock said.

Students cast almost 500 more votes than in last year's MSA election, which was hurt by the election boycott after running mates Kelley Robinson and Sameera Ali were disqualified, Morlock said.

Morlock called the increased number "a step in the right direction."

Candidates' advertising efforts helped increase voter turnout, Morlock said.

The slates used fliers, banners and posters in addition to visiting student organizations and classrooms to present their platforms.

Running mates Dustin Barker and Jessica Ekhoff even used a projector to illuminate their names on the side of a building.

"Everyone did a really good job of getting their names and faces out there," Morlock said.

Even fewer students voted in the Homecoming Royalty election in November, Homecoming Steering Committee Tri-Director Ryan Murdock said. He estimated 2,500 students voted for Homecoming king and queen.

The Homecoming Steering Committee promoted the elections with MU Info announcements and at Homecoming events such as the blood drive.

Unlike MSA candidates, royalty candidates are not permitted to campaign.

"MSA candidates are speaking in class and have signs around campus, where we don't allow royalty to do that," Murdock said. "I think that MSA has more advertising, so it's more on people's minds. More people are thinking about it."

Murdock said he was pleased with number of voters for Homecoming king and queen.

"We did have more votes than last year," he said. "I was happy with it."

Voting in both elections was as easy as clicking a mouse. Students cast votes on a Web site through a link sent in a mass e-mail.

"It disappoints me that people didn't care enough to do even that much," Morlock said.

Political science associate professor David Webber said online voting often leads to a low voter turnout. Voting is a social activity that promotes personal relationships and face-to-face communication, he said.

Technology, on the other hand, is individualistic and discourages discussion and interaction.

"Campaigns and elections are all about social contact," Webber said. "In the end, technology is the opposite of what we need. E-mail voting for the American Political Science Association's Executive Council has been consistently 30 percent of the membership. And these are political scientists. People just don't vote as much as we think they do."

Political apathy occurs across the country.

More than 50 percent of the voting-age population voted in the 2004 presidential election, which was a marked increase from the 2000 and 1996 presidential elections.

"It's considered good, but to me it is not that high," Webber said.

Webber said he was not taken aback by the turnout in the MSA election.

"It's consistent with what I would expect," he said. "I'm disappointed but not

surprised."