What Election?

Despite a high-energy effort by UB officials to get the word out about registering to vote, activity at campus polling booths on Tuesday was muted.

At the Student Union, the polling place for most North Campus residents, just 31 students voted by the time the polls closed at 9 p.m.

Though turnout was particularly low, local elections officials said they were not expecting many students to vote because students respond more strongly in a presidential election year.

"Usually more than 650 students vote in the presidential elections, about half that in the gubernatorial races, and less than a quarter of it in local elections," said Brian Coffey, an election inspector stationed in 145B Student Union, the North Campus polling location.

In the 2000 presidential election, 694 students voted from District 105, which comprises Governors Complex and Hadley Village, and District 93, made up of Ellicott Complex and Creekside Village. In the 2002 general election, only 156 students from those districts participated.

A large number of students, however, are not registered to vote in Erie County because their permanent addresses are in other counties.

This year, numerous positions were up for grabs in Erie County. In the most high-profile race, for County Executive, incumbent Republican candidate Joel Giambra was a heavy favorite over Democrat Daniel Ward.

Julie Hoy, a student in her last year at UB's school of pharmacy, came out to vote yesterday, but didn't have a strong opinion on the candidates running for the different local positions in question.

"I just feel compelled to come to the polls because I do not want to become another statistic of students my age who don't vote," Hoy stated.

Syamala Krishnamsetty, a junior double major in biology and English, is a registered Democrat who said she leans towards libertarian candidates.

"It is important that we have a role in the social, political and cultural life of our country," Krishnamsetty said. "Soon, economic issues are going to matter to us because we are going to graduate and need jobs, so our vote is going to affect whose economic policy we're going to have to live with."

Though turnout was low, leadership development center officials lauded a new program aimed at registering students to vote.

Officials said the program dramatically increased the number of students who are registered to vote. In 2001, 325 students in district 93 were registered to vote. Now, 796 are registered.

To increase student registration, leadership development center officials said they tried to maximize the accessibility of registration materials and the level of student awareness of Election Day.

Pickup sites such as the UB Bookstore and Student Union information counter were designated and supplied with registration forms and educational resources. Also, registration forms were given to all students living in residence halls on campus.

The New York State Student Assembly also held a table in the Student Union lobby with instructional equipment so that students could find out more about voting.

Efforts were also made to notify the student body about where and when to vote via campus publications, flyers, notices on the campus cable television station and announcements by instructors of UB 101 classes.

Edward Brodka, assistant director of the leadership development center, emphasized the importance for students to vote in all elections, including general ones.

"It's a shame when students do not care about local elections, because much of the issues addressed by local representatives directly pertain to students," Brodka said.