The 2008 Presidential Election is expected to draw many voters because of the historic nature of the event. Barack Obama could be the first African American to be president and Sarah Palin could be the first woman to be vice president. The issues facing the United States right now such as the financial crisis, the Iraq War, and foreign policy have been fought out by the two candidates for the last few months. Even with all of the media hype and historical significance of this election there are still people who will not go to the voting booths.

Associate professor Mike Joslyn explains the election and voter turnout in terms of cost.

“People who have a higher income and higher education are more likely to vote because they are more affluent in politics than other people,” Joslyn said. Joslyn said people who had more money were more likely to vote because the cost to them was less: They have a car to get to a voting booth, they can afford to spend their time voting, and it is more socially expected for them to vote. Most Americans do not make it to the polling booth because they are too busy and don’t have the resources to spare on something like voting.

Joslyn also explains that people will vote out of a sense of obligation. Americans feel it is their responsibility to vote for their country because we are a democracy. Younger people are less likely to vote out of obligation because they have not been connected to the community in ways that older people have, Joslyn said.

“Younger people haven’t had to pay taxes or decide on laws that affect their life yet,” Joslyn said.

“We vote all the time in local elections, presidential elections, and off-year elections,” Joslyn said. Even with all these potential reasons to vote, a portion of eligible voters will not be voting.

“For students who are registered in a swing state like Missouri, absentee votes will be more decisive in the election,” Joslyn said. In Kansas, which is seen as a “red state,” absentee votes or students who register to vote in Kansas will have less of an effect on the outcome of the election. “Kansas is a less competitive state and [the parties] do not try as hard to get votes from students or absentee voters,” Joslyn said.

With the difficulties, students face in trying to vote, such as re-registering and absentee ballots, and the lack of participation in general from younger eligible voters, it is easy to see why students may not go to vote tomorrow. Sadie Weichmann, Overland Park freshman, has been staying out of politics and the election. Weichmann has not watched any of the presidential debates and has not been following the campaign trail of either of the candidates.

“I don’t like politics and I just don’t find it interesting,” Weichmann said.

Weichmann does not believe her vote will count her vote will count in the election because of the electoral college system.

“Your vote doesn’t really count because there will be one person who casts a vote for everyone and they have the power to just choose whoever they want,” Weichmann said. Weichmann’s government class has been discussing how the voting process works, and because she thinks she is not directly voting for the president, she doesn’t want to vote at all.

Students also might not vote because they do not support either of the major candidates. Tyler Danaver, Wichita sophomore, is a Libertarian and does not want to vote for Obama or McCain.

“If Ron Paul was still running I would vote for him hands down,” Danaver said. Danaver said he had not fully investigated Obama’s and McCain’s platforms but he had been informed by very heated opinions.

“My mother and my godmother are both feeding me the flames about the horrors of both of the candidates,” Danaver said.

Danaver does not want to choose between McCain and Obama. Danaver said he was taught that “less bad does not equal good,” and he didn’t want to vote for a candidate that does not represent his ideas. If he was going to vote, Danaver would vote for a third-party candidate. Although he realizes that a third-party candidate would not win this election, his vote could still do some good.

“If I voted it wouldn’t be a deciding vote this election but I would be investing in the future of a third-party candidate,” Danaver said.

Tim Scilwell, Hutchison senior, doesn’t think his vote will have any direct affect on his lifestyle.

“It doesn’t affect my personal freedom and it doesn’t matter who is president to me,” Scilwell said. Scilwell said he is apolitical and he doesn’t care about keeping up with all of the political and media gossip about the election. Scilwell is concerned with some of the key issues of this election, though.

“I’m a little concerned with the financial crisis,” Scilwell said.

Voters might also be turned against voting due to the recent Voter Registration Fraud. ACORN, a nonprofit group that tries to register lower income voters, has been accused of registering false names and registering voters multiple times according to CNN. The already highly covered election will now focus on whether or not there might be fraud in the voting process instead of the candidates and the issues. If voters don’t have confidence that their vote will be recorded correctly, then they may not put forth the effort to vote for fear of a repeat of the 2000 presidential election.

Voting is a privilege and a right for Americans. With the multitude of issues in this campaign, voters want to express their opinions about what should be done. But when voters do not feel their vote would count or that the issues affect them, voter turnout gets gradually lower. With the significant and symbolic issues surrounding the candidates and the issues, voter turnout may make a comeback.

— — Edited by Tara Smith