Aggies, let your voice be heard
Presidential elections and elections for Congress may be important, but the local elections have more effect on your day to day living. The municipal elections, or city council elections, are coming up in the next few weeks. Many college students, and many other people for that matter, tend to show more participation when it comes to elections for the federal government, not showing interest in the municipal governments.
“Honestly, the elections that will affect the USU students more in the next four years and the next generation of students are the elections happening right now for the municipal government,” said Damon Cann, a professor of political science at Utah State University, who has also been North Logan’s mayor for the past four years.
Cann has been interested in politics since high school. He was on the city council for six years before he became the mayor. From this, Cann has learned the importance of making city council elections a priority.
“Landlord licensing, where you can live, how many apartment buildings will be built, decisions that could ultimately decrease housing cost are all made by the city councils and mayors, not by Congress or the president,” Cann said.
While Congress and the president may mention universities and community colleges, it’s hard to know whether anything will get done within those communities. Whereas the local governments are continually active within their communities and how the local schools and local housing situations are handled.
“City councils also make decisions about local businesses and where they’re allowed to locate,” Cann said. “So if you’re a student that wishes there was a Target in Cache County, you should be participating in the elections. If you want more restaurants or more places to do fun things for dates or with friends, you should be participating in the local elections. The students’ experience in Cache County is heavily affected by the decisions these local governments make.”
Many elected officials want to create a good environment for the students locally, however they do not focus on the students’ political preferences, because typically the students do not participate in these elections.
“It’s less visible in the sense that those who need to study up and participate are typically those who live in those respective cities,” Cann said. “So for students who are moving into the valley from somewhere else, you don’t know the candidates.”
With advancing technology and COVID-19 forcing many things to be online, it’s easier than it has ever been to be introduced to these local candidates. Many of their campaigns are run online, you can find more information about the candidates on the local city’s website and through their social media platforms.
“One of the biggest challenges that USU students face is when they move to Logan to attend college, you often live in a different place,” Cann said. “Many students just keep their voter registration at their parents’ homes. But that means their ballots will be for their parents’ municipal elections and will be sent to their homes.”
Students can still register to vote online at vote.utah.gov or in person at the Cache County Clerk’s Office. The last day to register to vote in this election is Oct. 22.
These elections may seem small, but they have the ability to shape our college experience. The decisions that these people will make could change our environment drastically, which is why it’s so important to do research and be an informed voter for the city elections.
“The lack of student participation does have a tendency to influence the outcome of elections,” Cann said. “If students want to have more of a voice in how our communities look, feel and function, then the simple answer is that students need to vote and make their voices heard.”