COLUMN: Utah State needs to increase voter turnout
Who is representing you in the nation, your state, your city and your university? Who is making decisions that shape the nation you live in and shape your education? Are they making the right decisions? Which of the current local and national candidates do you want to see lead you?
These are all questions that we have to ask ourselves as we consider who we will vote for in elections. As individuals, we hold the power to make these decisions for ourselves. We also hold the power to influence others and encourage them to let their voices be heard in these decisions.
As we look back at the history of the state of Utah, we find that from 1908 to about the mid 60s, Utah had a relatively average voter turnout. In 1964, Utah reported 78 percent of registered voters participated in the presidential election. However, in the last few decades Utah has seen a significant decline. In the 2008 presidential election, Utah recorded an embarrassing 50 percent of registered voters participating in the election.
This places Utah as the second lowest state in the nation for number of voters. The only state with lower turnout is Hawaii. Sadly, this pattern is also seen on our campus during student government elections. Last year USU, despite an increase from the year before, saw only 24 percent of students participating in the election. Past statistics show numbers reaching as high as 41 percent voter turnout on our campus.
Some may think their vote won’t matter because Utah leans heavily to one side in politics. This, however, may not be the case in university elections. Let’s look at the example of higher education. Last year, a poll was taken among state and county political leaders. The survey asked leaders to rank issues in order of importance to them. On the list of issues, higher education ranked No. 11. When this same poll was given to the Utah public, higher education ranked No. 1 in importance. This example shows us that as Utah citizens we may need to speak up a little more if we want to be represented properly.
If we are going to make a difference, this is the year to do it. There are important elections at the university level, the community level, the state level and the national level. If we want to make a difference, we each need to do three things. The first thing we need to do is get informed. I suggest following political conversations on Twitter. If you don’t have a Twitter account, sign up for one. Listen to dialogue from both sides of important issues and form your own opinions. Next, learn about the candidates until you find one who most closely matches your ideals. Finally, go vote.
Start participating this week in the ASUSU elections process. There are many good candidates on the ballot. Find the one who you think will represent you most accurately. In addition, there are two referendums on the ballot that will do a lot to shape the future of USU.