Voter turnout across this campus is getting more pathetic each time students are asked to go to the polls. That dismal trend is painfully evident by the approximately 2 percent of MSU’s 43,000 students who voted in a universitywide referendum last week concerning the proposed tax increase for The State News.
We thank the 925 students who voted for the referendum to increase The State News tax from $4 to $5 per student each semester. Of those students, 501 approved the measure.
Despite the good news for our organization, those numbers are horrible. The trend is pathetic.
Each year, ASMSU’s representative elections are lucky if they pull in 2.5 percent of the undergraduates. Given the results of our own referendum, it’s doubtful those statistics will increase for this week’s ASMSU representative and referendum elections.
MSU’s undergraduate population may log onto www.student-elections.msu.edu to vote in the ASMSU elections that include a proposal to renew and increase the undergraduate student government’s ability to tax from $13 per semester to $16.
University Apartments residents also can vote this week on whether to increase a tax for the Council of Residents from $1.50 a semester to $3.
We cannot stress enough how important it is to carry out your civic duty to vote. Voting on the referenda is as simple as logging onto a computer. If you cannot vote in a simple local campus election, what benefits can you offer society when you have to travel to the polls and wait in line for elections?
Organizations such as ASMSU and The State News are spending your student tax dollars - it’s up to you to tell these groups how your money should be used. If you don’t offer your voice you are failing to protect your investment.
The American right to vote has not come easily. Countless thousands have given their lives throughout our country’s history to protect and earn that right. Thousands more worldwide have done the same to gain the right within their own countries.
Voting is your American duty. If you cannot be a benefit to your local community you cannot be a benefit to your state and national environments either.
The university is somewhat to blame for an increasing trend of voter apathy. Before ballots began being cast on computer, polls were set up on campus. When polls were in students’ faces, more of them turned out to vote.
Giving the people an easy and simple way to the polls is the responsibility of the government in the Untied States. It is as much MSU’s responsibility to promote voter awareness as it is the students’ responsibility to get out and vote.
The Computer Center could set up computer terminals on campus much like the university once did when students cast paper ballots.
Students should remember one voice makes a difference. Take a minute out of your day and vote.
