Tuesday’s primary elections fail to lure SU voters
The primary elections were rolling across New York state Tuesday, but they drew a minimal turnout on the Syracuse University campus.
‘Students aren’t interested in the local elections,’ said Norm Keim, a volunteer election inspector at the E.S. Bird Library poll. ‘We get about 1,000 voters in a presidential election.’
Bird Library, which houses the only on-campus polling site, was open from noon to 9 p.m. and saw a total of 17 voters, six of whom were Republican and 11 of whom were Democrat. In the absence of a presidential candidate or a heated campaign, students and election volunteers agreed there was little knowledge about and interest in the primary election.
The biggest race in New York state this election season is for governor. In the primaries, Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo was uncontested, while Carl Paladino, a tea party sympathizer from Buffalo, and Rick Lazio, the candidate endorsed by the Republican Party, went head-to-head for governor for the Republican ballot.
Sam Disston, a senior psychology and Spanish major, was one of the few students who voted on Tuesday.
As a Republican supporting the underdog — Paladino — Disston said voting was the responsible thing to do.
Disston, who is also a member of the College Republicans, said he changed his voter registration to Syracuse a year ago from his home in Connecticut.
‘Me and my roommate share the same world views,’ Disston said. ‘I made my decision after speaking to him.’
Disston said Paladino appealed to him because of the candidate’s association with the tea party.
‘Individual liberties is a big thing for me,’ he said. And though he knew Paladino probably wouldn’t win in the end, Disston said he votes to support the principles he believes in.
The main item on the Democratic ballot was a local race for Onondaga County sheriff, said Keim, who has been volunteering at the polls for 25 years. The race for county sheriff had four runners, two Republicans and two Democrats.
Steve Brechin, a sociology professor, said he voted Democrat at Bird Library on Tuesday. He said the most important race for him was for attorney general.
There were four Democratic candidates for attorney general in the primary. The past several governors and Democratic candidate Cuomo were attorney generals before running for governor.
The numbers at Bird Library do not represent the total voter turnout for SU students because many students choose to do absentee ballots, Keim said. Also, Bird Library is not the only polling station for SU students. Students living on the Mount vote at an off-campus site, as do students on South Campus.
But students were generally apathetic to the primaries this year, compared to long-term or older residents in the area. Other students felt they weren’t informed enough about the elections to vote.
‘I don’t think too many people knew about it,’ said Mike Lessner, a sophomore marketing major and a resident of the Bird Library voting district.
Nikita Ferrao, a sophomore pre-med student from New York state, also hadn’t heard much about the primaries.
‘I know I should educate myself — it’s just I’d rather not act like I know what I’m talking about,’ she said.
Busy college students don’t have the same amount of time to vote, Ferrao said.
But among the overwhelming student apathy on Tuesday, politically active students like Disston see Tuesday’s elections as a time to show support for the ideals they believe in.
‘A lot of people in politics have the same ends in mind,’ he said. ‘But since I won’t be around to see the ends, the means are what matter to me.’
Published on September 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm
