It isn't really shocking that few MSU students voted in Tuesday's special Senate primary.
Out of the more than 6,110 registered voters on campus, only 35 voted in nearby residence halls for the primary of the special election, which will be held to fill the Senate seat vacated by Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.
The importance of voting has been drilled into our minds. We, in most of our editorials, have been doing our share of the drilling.
But the faltering point comes at making the effort to understand, decide and actually go out to vote.
There are many reasons why students just didn't vote:
Their days could have been busy — they simply didn't have the time.
They don't understand politics or the candidates' platforms. They didn't want to risk making an uninformed decision.
They didn't know about the primary.
They didn't think their votes would make a difference.
They just didn't care enough about it.
Our apathy toward voting is so common come election time that no one can really be blamed.
But we can't complain about local government decisions if we're unwilling to lend our voice at the polls. And we can't criticize low voter turnouts if we're not voting ourselves, no matter what the excuse is.
MSU students have the ability to drastically affect local and state politics. Each vote counts in an East Lansing City Council or Michigan Senate special election.
We complain that candidates don't take students seriously when it comes to issues, such as higher education funding, that affect us. But how can they be expected to take us seriously when less than one percent of eligible student voters on campus show up?
That doesn't mean we should just give up — if we can vote, we should. But unless it's made easier and more convenient, voting will still be avoided by students.
The state might see more student votes if the Legislature agreed to allow absentee ballots, the option for voting a few days earlier or more polls in more convenient places — something that would fit into our schedules.
Many have attempted to energize students enough to take action for something, but nothing seems to be working.
At this point, it seems difficult enough to convince ourselves to take action.
