In November 2000, an 18-year-old East Lansing native drove some 700 miles from her North Carolina college to vote in the presidential election. She wasn’t about to lose her opportunity to have her voice heard at the polls.

Fast-forward some two years and you’d be hard-pressed to find the same enthusiasm. Only 22 percent of Michigan’s voters were expected to participate in Tuesday’s primary, and many campus precincts reported few - if any - voters. About 21 percent of East Lansing voters went to the polls.

Four of East Lansing’s voting sites were on campus - and they remained nearly vacant throughout most of the day.

“A lot of the students aren’t here in the summer, and hopefully they will learn how to do an absentee ballot, and when they move back it will be bigger in the fall,” City Clerk Sharon Reid said.

Or, those students may do the same thing many people in town did for Tuesday’s primary - anything but voting.

There’s an election?

The East Lansing Family Aquatic Center, 6400 Abbott Road, was packed Tuesday afternoon with children much too young to cast a vote - let alone tall enough to work the voting booth.

But within this haze of splashing children were glimpses of older people who had little standing in their way to prevent them from voting - except maybe a little fun and sun.

At about 4 p.m., aquatic center employee Josh Niesz was strapping on his helmet to speed off on his motorbike.

“I’ve been working all day - I didn’t even know there was an election today,” the mechanical engineering sophomore said. “To be honest, I haven’t watched TV in three weeks so that’s probably why.”

Lansing resident Dawn Weaver, who was at the aquatic center with her children, hadn’t voted either.

“Was there an election today? What was it for?” Weaver said. “Well, I vote for presidents, but that’s about it. I’m not big on politics.”

Not now, I’m at the bar

Claire Chappell, a bartender at Reno’s East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbott Road, also found herself unaware of Tuesday’s primary. She was working hard - serving afternoon drinkers their beers.

“What’s the election?” the marketing junior asked.

And the list of excuses were: “I’m not registered, I’m busy and no one told me. If I had known the date of the election then I would have, but no one came knocking on my door to tell me.”

Sitting quietly at the bar, a middle-aged man drinking a schooner of beer teased Chappell for not voting. Of course, he hadn’t yet either.

“The place I usually go to vote, MacDonald Middle School, was closed down,” he said. “I didn’t look to see if there were cars and I didn’t bother trying to find another yet, but eventually I will - I’ve still got time.”

Then the man swiftly returned his attention to the full mug of alcohol in front of him.

‘I just don’t care enough’

And, perhaps not surprisingly, many students spending their summer in the dorms were oblivious to the election.

Many had legitimate reasons, like Abbot Hall mentor Frank Purdy, who was sitting in his room watching television in the midafternoon.

“I’m out-of-state,” the music education junior said. “I’m registered in New York and it’s just not worth registering here.”

Other students said they had better things to do with their time.

Kinesiology junior Brent Singleton was walking through the corridors of Mason Hall. He had been studying all day for his graduate school entrance exam and from previous experiences, decided not to bother with the primaries.

“I’m not even registered here, and last time I tried with the presidential election there was a problem,” he said. “I was registered in my hometown and in East Lansing and I don’t really know what happened, but it didn’t work.”

Yet other students just weren’t interested.

Sophomore Gabriel Cervantes also was walking the corridors of Mason.

“I don’t even think I’m registered,” Cervantes said. “I just don’t care enough to.”

Me either

Across Grand River Avenue, it seems the campus attitude rubbed off a bit.

“I totally forgot about it,” said Merissa McDaniels, a stylist at Noggins Hair Shop, 545 E. Grand River Ave. “I’m not into politics so I really didn’t care.”

“I didn’t follow up on the candidates and stuff,” co-worker Brandy Brown added. “So I’m not bothering.”

And, Brown said, she’s not registered in East Lansing.

“I’m registered in Eaton Rapids,” she said. “I don’t feel like driving all the way out there.” Eaton Rapids is about 25 miles from East Lansing.

Besides, she said, she has plans for the evening and won’t have time to make it to the polls.

“I have laundry to do,” Brown said. “I know, not very exciting.”