Dekira Wilkerson, staff writer

As election day approaches, college students face a choice: head to the polls or sit out for this election. Election experts, politicians and political experts say that too many students choose the latter, leaving decisions that will directly affect them to the older generations.

Floyd County Elections Director Akyn Beck examined the voter participation demographics and she has found that young adults do not vote at the same volume as the older generations for several reasons.

“Typically, we see that the 18 to 24-year-olds are the least participating groups in elections,” Beck said. “I think there is a lack of interest and I think the climate around voting is different in the younger generation. For younger people, you can see the debate that ‘my vote doesn’t count’.”

Beck said that, historically, older generations have had the most influence on recent elections.

“Older generations are the ones deciding the elections,” Beck said. “They’re also the ones running for the office. We can look at the people who are currently sitting and have been sitting in the office.”

Younger voters can feel as though their vote is less significant compared to the older voters. The rhetoric used most often is ‘an opposing vote that will cancel my vote’. Beck said the most important part about the recent data is that younger voters are not voting, making their voices less prevalent.

“We hear all the time, ‘my vote doesn’t count’, ‘my vote gets canceled out by another” Beck said. “We really can’t be apathetic to voting in the election process. We can further discuss the data points on 18 to 24-year-olds not voting, but the most important thing is older generations are causing their voices to be less heard.”

Department Chair of Political Science and International Affairs Eric Sands comments on possible reasons for the lack of voter participation among young voters. He said that voting can be daunting and overwhelming for first time voters.

“Voting can be confusing,” Sands said. “Some ballots are pages and pages long, and when [students] get there, they do not understand why they should have preference over a circuit court judge or why it matters that one person is Republican or Democrat. If that is your first experience voting, it probably doesn’t bode well for you to continue [voting].”

College students can feel too busy to spend time educating themselves on politics and it can be hard for politicians to target the younger generations because they do not understand what interests students. Sands said adding civil engagement to the many responsibilities of college students can feel like asking for a little too much and for this reason a lot of students just adopt the political views of their parents, or they do not vote at all.

“When trying to understand what college students are interested in and what is important to them, there is usually an information gap for college students,” Sands said. “[Students] are busy with classes and jobs, then add on civic engagement. Sometimes getting involved with politics is just a bridge too far and a lot of students are coming in just articulating the political views of their parents.”

Beck wants students to be educated voters, although this could look different for everyone. The main point is that students should know where they’re voting, what they are voting for and who would represent them the best.

“I think students need to be educated voters and that looks different for everyone,” Beck said. “You should know what you are voting for, and who’s representing you so that you are not confused when you go into the poll.”

Sands said he dislikes hearing students that didn’t vote being upset with the results of an election. He said every vote matters, more so in local elections.

“There is nothing worse than when you hear a student upset about the outcome of an election and you ask, ‘did you vote?’” Sands said. “They respond, ‘my vote doesn’t matter’.”

Retired Brigadier General and Democratic Nominee for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District Shawn Harris said local elections are equally as important as general elections.

“The local elections are for the people that influence your every day life,” Harris said. “The people that affect individuals the most are either the City Council or County Commissioner. They get the potholes fixed in your city, they make sure that every law sent down from Congress is practiced, to make a safer environment to raise your family in.”

Sands said the policy or legislative side of local elections should make college students more willing to vote because decisions made based on local elections have a greater effect on students since the policy or legislation will directly impact the community.

“There are more things in local elections that affect students,” Sands said. “This should make them more inclined to vote locally, because there is a greater chance that future legislations or policies implemented will directly impact them.”

Beck gave a specific example of how the results of local elections would directly impact students. She said that sales tax is a part of local elections, which affects day-to-day life by dictating the fluctuation of expenses in each county. Federal elections will not directly impact your grocery bills, but local elections will be the reason why groceries are more expensive in certain counties.

“What is important for local elections, especially for college students, is sales tax,” Beck said. “The sales tax is on the ballot, so anytime we have special sales tax either for education or for just a special penny on the dollar; that really affects your day-to-day life.”

Beck said local election participation is important because local elections come down to a smaller margin. This means that the outcomes can be easily changed by increased participation by certain demographics.

“Local elections can really come down to a smaller margin,” Beck said. “You will not see that on the federal level because of the electoral college. So, get involved in local elections, the local elections always come down to a reasonable margin, that if one more demographic voted, it could’ve changed the outcome.”

For local elections, the voting pool is smaller; each vote holds a lot of significance. Sands put stress on voting as a gift, encouraging others to make use of it. He said voting is not a huge time commitment, and requires minimum effort.

“The pool gets smaller and smaller until you are voting in local elections with maybe 100 people,” Sands said. “This is where your vote carries a lot more significance. You are being given a precious gift that millions of people around the world wish they had, so do not take it for granted.”

Harris said the American dream involves living life to the best ability. He said voting is the way to achieve this.

“Part of the American dream is being able to do whatever your dream is,” Harris said. “It is being able to live your life to your best ability. As a first-time voter, the way you can accomplish this is by letting your voice be heard. This lets you put leaders out there who will help you achieve your dream.”

Early voting began on Oct. 13 and will end on Oct. 30. Election Day is on Nov. 3. Harris encourages students to vote now.

“Make sure you know where you are supposed to vote, whether in Rome or another city,” Harris said. “Get it done early.