Alex Noffsinger, vice president of governmental affairs for ASMSU, said the organization is setting up tables on campus with literature from the League of Women Voters about the different races and candidates.
“(The) information on down ballot elections as well,” Noffsinger, a social relations and policy senior, said. “It doesn’t cover everything, but does provide the basic information. It gives them a good enough idea to make a somewhat informed decision, or least to start researching them.”
City Clerk Marie Wicks said the other contests on the ballot should be treated with equal importance by students.
“Really everything underneath (the) presidential (election on the ballot) is important,” Wicks said.
Despite this sentiment, voter turnout in the past has been low. According to Ingham County’s website, average voter turnout on the five on-campus precincts between 2012 and 2016 was 8.65 percent.
On-campus voter turnout depends on the level of the race. The average turnout for East Lansing City Council races in that period was 0.88 percent and the average turnout for gubernatorial elections was 14.35 percent.
Wicks said she thinks voter turnout this year will be different. The city registered about 7,500 new voters, and 6,648 of them are from on-campus precincts.
Wicks said she expects voter turnout to be high because of this, though she does not know what races people will be voting in.
“Anecdotally, some people don’t want to vote top of the ballot, some people only want to vote top of the ballot,” Wicks said. “I think the important thing to note is that you can do that. You don’t have to vote in every contest on the ballot. Your vote will still count.”
Councilmember Shanna Draheim said lower-ballot elections are important to students because they represent the students in a broader forum.
“Local state house races, those are the people that are going to be making Michigan public policy,” Draheim said.
She said voters who want to learn more should research candidates in the news and through the League of Women Voters.
Noffsinger said students should pay attention to the smaller races because they will likely see those policy changes more than federal policy changes.
“Obviously you can talk about why the top matters a lot,” Noffsinger said. “The down ballot one will always matter a lot. These local elections have a much more direct impact on the daily lives of students. The majority of government decisions affecting students are made at a state and local level so it’s important for students to get as involved as possible.”
