Tuesday’s midterm election was met with indifference and
frustration at UCLA as a low voter turnout was aggravated by
incomplete voter registration lists on campus.
The low turnout for Tuesday’s gubernatorial election did
nothing to dispel widespread concerns about voter apathy,
especially among college students.
Slightly less than 45 percent of California’s registered
voters made their way to the polls on Tuesday, and the turnout in
the Los Angeles area was lower.
Los Angeles had 41 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
Both Orange and Ventura counties had higher turnouts with 44.5
percent and 42.5 percent, respectively.
UCLA students seemed to absorb some of the political apathy of
their city. Many forgot to register, and many more felt too busy or
too ill-informed to vote.
“I just didn’t have time,” said Mike Tammen, a
first-year mechanical engineering student.
On campus, students were less than ecstatic about the major
candidates, but some were more inclined to vote for either
incumbent Gray Davis or businessman Bill Simon.
“I voted for Simon because Davis strikes me as
sleazy,” said Joshua Fletcher, a third-year math student.
Oluwasheun Omakomaiya, a first-year political science student
and first-time voter, based her opinion on policy rather than
instinct.
“I voted for Davis because I feel that he has done a good
job,” she said.
While many students expressed dislike for the primary
candidates, many more students failed to vote out of
indifference.
Joni Park, an undeclared first-year student, for example,
explained that she just turned 18 and had forgotten to
register.
For many of UCLA’s students who did vote, the experience
was a confusing and frustrating one. Many students did not know
where to vote, partially as a result of incomplete voter
registration lists.
“We are missing an official roster of voters,” said
Andrew Reinicke, a Los Angeles county precinct inspector.
“L.A. county didn’t get their act together,”
he said.
Students who registered to vote but were not on the
county’s roster of voters were allowed to vote on the
condition that their vote would only be counted if the county could
determine they were registered.
Provisional voters will be notified of the status of their votes
by telephone, said Andrew Reinicke, the local precinct
inspector.
Voter turnout at UCLA varied greatly between polling places.
Between 40 and 55 people trickled into Covel to vote Tuesday,
according to Gloria DeLeon, a first-year undeclared student working
at the Covel poll.
“The majority of voters have no idea where they’re
supposed to vote,” she said.
Meanwhile, poll workers at De Neve described the turnout as
“overwhelming.”
The station recorded more than 200 votes, according to Roman
Kleynvery, a first-year biology student who worked at the De Neve
poll.
While the low voter turnout for this election suggests a general
lack of interest, some first-time voters at UCLA constituted a
comparatively informed and enthusiastic demographic group.
“A lot of the new voters were really excited … and they
all wanted the stickers,” said Michelle Tigno, who helped run
the poll at Covel.