By James El-Mallakh–
If you’re not registered to vote in this general election, Oct. 11 is the last day to register to vote for the general election runoff.
In Kentucky, a central focus of this election season will be the run for the Governor’s office this November.
With over 20,000 students at the University of Louisville – most of whom are eligible to register – it is important that students be aware of the candidates and show up to vote.
Melissa Dillery, a freshman bioengineering major, said she is aware and ready for the gubernatorial elections.
“I’m registered to vote at home,” in Campbellsville, she said. Although Dillery is registered to vote outside of Jefferson, she said she still intends to be voting in the November elections.
Though for some, local elections are not enough to bring everyone to their local voting centers.
Evan Large, a junior communications major, said voting in the general election on in November is something he “hadn’t really planned on, to be honest.”
Although registration is important, the number that counts is how many actually show up to vote.
According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, the turnout of registered voters ages 17-24 has been patchy over the past few years. In 2006 the turnout for these voters was at 25 percent and came down five points to 20 percent in 2007, the year incumbent governor Steve Beshear was elected.
After that in 2010, young people brought that number back up to 29 percent – a 9 percent increase.
Max Morley, the senior advisor of the U of L Student Government Association, said he works continually to improve voter turnout in Kentucky. His office does this in a variety of ways, such as voter registration booths to help get people to the polls.
“One thing that we are considering doing, but hasn’t been decided yet, is providing transportation,” Morely said. “We are going to hopefully work with [the University of Louisville Properties] to see if we can get a program with [resident assistants] to try and get their floors out to go vote. But signing people up, we like making that available to them. I think, we like to make it an opportunity for them.”
Ashley Burkhead, a sophomore political science major and chairwoman of the College Republicans on campus, emphasized the importance of involvement from young voters.
“There are a lot of issues that I think our generation needs to be aware of,” Burkhead said. “I just want to encourage anyone that is going to be registering to vote or going out to vote to become aware of the candidates and the issues that are facing us.”
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