Voters in East Lansing will decide the fate of local primary elections, which have been plagued with low voter turnout and a lack of candidates.

The possible elimination has some MSU students excited about having a greater voice in city government and has left city officials hoping for higher voter turnouts, while others doubt it would make a difference. For the primary to be held, there must be twice as many candidates than the amount of available seats. The primary was canceled in 1999 and again in August because of a lack of candidates.

Mayor Mark Meadows, Mayor Pro Tem Sam Singh and Councilmember Beverly Baten are the only candidates on the Nov. 4 ballot, and MSU students Joey Marcus and Jared Rapp have joined the race as write-in candidates.

Two years ago, Singh proposed eliminating the primaries because of a lack of votes and said the move is recently gaining momentum. In April, council members unanimously voted to place the primary debate on the November ballot.

"I think council was willing to test the water and see what residents thought about the issue," Singh said.

If eliminated, it would save the city more than $20,000. But East Lansing will still hold a primary election during even years, for state and national elections.

But Singh's elimination proposal isn't the first time the East Lansing primary has come under fire.

A vote in September 1995 attempted to change the primary date to the Tuesday following the second Monday in September, but the motion failed by 360 votes.

In August of 2001, MSU graduate student Matt Mitroka lobbied to move the primary date to September.

That same year, Mitroka ran for city council but lost in the Aug. 7, 2001, primary. He blamed his loss on the lack of voter turnout, which was only 9.33 percent.

In response to that, Mitroka began his petition to move the primary date but also was unsuccessful in getting the issue on the ballot. He said he realized that the date of the primary wasn't the problem.

"Moving the primary doesn't matter until you get students to vote," he said. "Ultimately, it comes down to how many students are actually going to vote."

The University Student Commission and ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, have expressed support for its elimination. Kevin Glandon, vice chair of the USC, said both groups recognize that it would create a better atmosphere for students wanting to run for city council seats. Glandon also serves as ASMSU's Vice Chairperson for External Affairs.

Glandon said dropping the primary would increase the number of voters at the polls, because votes at the general election would become more important.

"It's good for students to be able to get involved in local politics," Glandon said. "It's good for people to get in there and make themselves heard."

Other university towns also have had to address the issue of primary elections.

Kalamazoo has never had local primary elections, which city election specialist Virginia VanderRoest said aren't necessary in their town because all officials are voted for at-large.

"There isn't a need for a primary with the way our system works," she said.

On average, VanderRoest said 10 percent of the registered voters turn out for the local general election, and not even a full percent of students cast a ballot.

Western Michigan University's undergraduate student government, the Western Student Association, is working on ways to make it easier for students to vote so that they might be more encouraged to head to the polls.

Western Michigan secondary education junior R. Gobler serves as a senator on the association and said the group is working on legislation that would change the city charter, making the qualifications more lenient for students who wish to register in Kalamazoo or run for local government.

"We have people who do it just to prove a point," he said. "But it's not something you can just jump on."

But in State College, Pa., home of Pennsylvania State University, local primary elections seem to be surviving.

Joyce McKinley, director of voter registration and elections in Centre County, said the county's primaries are held in May, which results in low student votes because it clashes with spring break. There were discussions to move primaries to September, but so far, no official action has been taken. Even if the date were to change, McKinley said student votes would probably remain low.

"Students register, but they just don't vote," she said.

Sarah McEvilly can be reached at mcevilly@msu.edu.