Quin Fitts is relaxing on a couch in the Culp Center next to his backpack. His manner is indifferent, but his words are not.
“I don’t like the direction the country’s going in,” said Fitts, an education major. “For me, it’s about the economy and the policies toward education – funding has been cut for a lot of programs.”
Fitts is talking about why, at the age of 24, he will vote for the first time on Nov. 2.
The ETSU junior may be one of the few people in his age group who makes it to the polls, however. If statistics from the past two presidential elections are any indication, only 32 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds will vote this year.
Compare that figure to 1972, when 50 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted – one year after the federal government passed the 26th Amendment that made the voting age 18 instead of 21.
Passage of the amendment was a battle fought and won by youth who protested against the fact that they were old enough to fight the nation’s wars, but too young to vote for the leaders who approve them.
“Whether it’s a local, state, or national election, your concerns aren’t really listened to if you don’t vote,” said Dr. Deborah White, assistant vice president of the Center for Engagement, Learning and Leadership, which facilitates student voter registration for ETSU.
“Why do you think tuition has gone up? It’s because legislators know students don’t vote,” White said, adding that only 17 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds vote in the less exciting, but usually more important, non-presidential elections.
With tuition and other important issues affecting young voters, their low turnout at the polls is illogical, and the reason for it not always understood. Many blame voter apathy – the belief that citizens aren’t interested in politics or are simply too cynical to believe that their vote matters.
But student reactions to the upcoming election tell a different story. Of those polled informally on campus, the majority have strong feelings on the subject of who will become the next president.
First-time voters Shay Witt and Briscoe Kuhlman, for example, feel passionately about casting their votes on Nov. 2 for President Bush.
“I think this election is very important; it determines the success of our country,” said Witt, a junior in communications, who said Sen. Kerry would leave the United States. “with more problems than we had before.”
Kuhlman, a third-year criminal justice major agrees, but also likes Bush for less political reasons. “I like that he makes up words,” Kuhlman said.
Other students agree with Fitts, saying Bush needs to go.
History major KK Gentry points to the conflict in Iraq as one of the deciding factors for her. “I don’t want Bush in office, to tell you the truth,” she said, adding that many of her friends in the military have told her they feel the same way.
Reactions like these do little to feed the “voter apathy” argument. In fact, White said, low student turnout could have more to do with transportation and logistics than indifference. Because many students are registered to vote in their hometown, traveling is sometimes difficult – especially on a Tuesday.
“We’ve slowly been whittling away at the barriers that keep students from voting,” said White, whose office in the Culp Center distributes voter registration forms to students, and even offers to mail them to any voting district in the country. “But there are still some problems.”
In Tennessee, for example, first-time voters must vote in person at the location listed on their registration card – a potential problem for some students who are a long way from where they’re registered. Even those voting absentee will need to obtain a ballot, said White, who offers tips to keep it simple:
“First, check your schedule,” she said. “Find out what’s going on the day you need to go vote, then figure out how long it’s going to take you to get there and back.
“If you plan on voting absentee, then make sure you check with your state’s rules regarding absentee voting. Find out if you’re eligible, then find out what the procedure is. Usually you have to vote absentee at least two weeks before the election.”
While it’s clear that voting in the United States can be fairy unclear, some students are more excited than worried.
“I get to vote,” freshman Magee Little said, relishing her newfound role in political decision-making. “I get to choose my president!”
Those interested registering to vote can do so on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Multicultural Expo in the Culp Center Ballroom or by visiting the Student Government Association booth during the Scoop on Service event on Wednesday, Sept. 15, beginning at 10 a.m. on the Pedestrian Mall.
Voter registration applications are also available at the CELL offices, 101 Culp Center, year-round, but the deadline to apply for November’s election is Oct. 2.

Author