Election Day has come and passed. We have a new (or the same) governor and there is a chance that New Brunswick politics have been changed to give more people an opportunity to get their opinion heard. Did you take the time to vote? Did you even care to learn anything about each candidate’s platform? It seems as if a wall of apathy hit students throughout this year’s election. Even though the campaigning intensified in recent days, citizens of voting age — students, in particular — were turned off. While it is not fair to say that all students, or even all young people, did not care about what is going on in the state or in the city, voting was not looked at with the same importance as it was last year. The attitude surrounding voting has definitely changed.
It is one year after President Barack Obama has been elected into office. Last year at this time, mayhem filled the streets of New Brunswick in celebration of much-anticipated change. That mayhem stemmed from the fact that it was our youth vote and our ability to use our voices and vote in order to accomplish something big. A wave of pride infected students throughout October and into November of last year. The presidential election was impacted greatly by the large turnout of young voters, who finally understood the importance of going out to “Rock the Vote,” “Vote or Die,” or any of the other clever slogans celebrities like P. Diddy and Paris Hilton were throwing at us. Part of it was perhaps how much campaigning was integrated into pop culture. It finally seemed cool to vote, which could have influenced young people, or maybe it was the sheer fact that young people were becoming interested in politics and what was going on with our country.
While the turnout at former President Bill Clinton’s rally at the University was large, its focus was widely missed. The point of his arrival was the endorsement of Gov. Jon S. Corzine. However, the numbers of students who attended this political spectacle failed to see that. With this miss on the students’ part, Clinton’s celebrity status overshadowed the true purpose of the visit, which was one of much greater political importance. Many students left the event talking about how great it was to see him speak, but did not mention a word about his main message, even if it was just one long advertisement. Of course, there are always a few outliers who stand to impress us with their knowledge.
The disinterest in this year’s election may come from the fact that young people are Internet savvy enough to skip over any news articles about local politics. While the Internet is the main news source for many young people, who log on to Web sites where the main headlines of the day focus on national politics and world news, many students tend to pass over them. But this phenomenon is nothing new. Still, the apathy is shocking, considering the available avenues of information available to students. Finding articles explaining wards and other New Brunswick issues, along with information about the gubernatorial race, can all found on Web sites like NJ.com, but some students may be more apt to going on sites like CNN and Yahoo! News to get their media fix for the day. They are able to soak up information about health care policies and the way government is run nationally, but they do not necessarily know the inner workings of the way things are done in their own home state. It also may be easier for an average person to find basic guidelines and summaries explaining national politics. The inner workings of how things are done locally are not the prime interest of student voters.
The gubernatorial campaigns of frontrunners Corzine and Republican candidate Chris Christie have generally been slanderous to date. Instead of advertising their own strengths and abilities, they have exploited and bashed their opponent’s past. Not only does this leave the public on their own to figure out each candidate’s platform, but it also discourages voter participation altogether. In years past, campaigns have routinely attacked their opponent, but this year’s bickering, especially during the last two debates, was nearly absurd. Usually Americans can’t wait to see the candidates crash and burn during the debates, but the slander just seemed to diminish whatever may have been left of voter turnout.
In 2005, there were 4,832,581 people registered to vote in New Jersey, according to the New Jersey Division of Elections Web site. Not even half of those registered actually found their way to a polling booth. The feeling that individual efforts do not matter was temporarily abolished during the presidential election, but the feeling of uselessness may be back into play with the gubernatorial race. The presidential election brought out about 5,378,792 registered voters in New Jersey, 72 percent of whom visited the polling booths, according to the Web site. This year, turnout will be far lower. Obama’s multiple visits to the state does not seem to have inspired the same type of calling that it did a year ago, and that’s not change we can believe in.
Voting momentum dying among students
Published: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
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