Less Than a Week Away, Election Inspires Apathy

In less than one week, the country will be filled with the familiar sights and sounds of Election Day: Polling stations will open, ballot cards will be punched--and potential youth voters will let out a collective yawn.

Other than a slight rise in turnout during the 1992 presidential campaign, which featured a saxophone-playing Bill Clinton on "The Arsenio Hall Show," the percentages of youth voters has been dropping steadily since the 1970's.

The numbers reached an all-time presidential-election year low in 1996: According to the Federal Election Commission, only 31 percent of college-age students voted that year, compared to 49 percent of the general population.

And the numbers are not expected to change significantly this Election Day.

"I think that young people are turned off by politics and politicians right now," said Institute of Politics (IOP) Director David H. Pryor, a former Democratic senator from Arkansas.

At Harvard, students seem less apathetic than their counterparts nationwide--according to the IOP, 63 percent of students registered in a recent voter drive. But even here, only five days before America chooses between a Harvard man and a Yalie, excitement in many quarters seems mild at best.

Apathy Ascendant

While most Harvard students have registered, and the majority of those interviewed say they plan to vote, dining halls have been less than abuzz with pre-election excitement.

"I watched the debates and argued with my roommates," said Patrick C. Todd '02. "But I really don't care very much. It's interesting but not really that important in my life."

Some students say they are interested in the election primarily for its entertainment value.

Jeff E. Hammerbacher '04 says the only result he hopes for is that the election be "close and down to the wire."

Even some who are sure about who they will vote for are not thrilled.

"He's the lesser of two evils," said Camille A. Rankine '04, explaining her less than wholehearted support for Vice President Al Gore '69.

And politicians will have a hard time targeting the problem--students point to a broad range of reasons for their disengagement.

Some say they believe that the large amounts of money necessary for elections distance politicians from real people and issues. Others voice concerns about an entrenched two-party system. Even more felt that Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush simply aren't worth getting excited over.

"I'm disappointed," said J. Barton Lounsbury '01. "I don't like either candidate very much."

Lounsbury crosses the partisan line in expressing his unhappiness with both men.

"Gore doesn't seem very trustworthy, and Bush isn't very bright," continues the reluctant Gore supporter.

Democrats interviewed in Annenberg Hall mocked Bush's alleged lack of intellectual prowess.

"Bush just strikes me as a moron," said Paul H. Hersh '04, expressing the views of many fellow first-year Bush bashers.

Others in Annenberg praised Bush for his record and his character.

"I think Bush has done a good job with Texas," Anna E. Byrne '04 says of her home state's governor. "Texas is the best state ever."

Paul F. Niehaus '04 is another Bush backer, at least in theory.

"I'll vote for Bush for moral reasons," he says.

But Niehaus then adds that he doesn't plan to vote at all--a resident of liberal Massachusetts, he says he doesn't think his vote would matter.

Disillusionment with the two major candidates and the two-party system has led other students to support Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.

"I am scared to death of the continuation of the status quo in which all politicians are puppets of major corporations," says Nader backer James A. Pinto '04.

Sarah L. Thomas '04 agrees, saying, "I think it is ridiculous that this country has become stuck in this two-party system."

Yet some progressives worry that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush.

"I thought about Ralph Nader," says Lounsbury, who says he appreciates Nader's environmental stances. "But I don't think he has a chance of winning."

Reversing the Trend?

A national survey conducted last year by the IOP shed some statistical light on what causes the rising tide of apathy among youth voters.

The study showed that roughly 90 percent of potential young voters believe that more direct contact with politicians and debates focusing on youth issues would make a difference.

A study by the Third Millennium, a bipartisan think tank, confirms the lack of attention paid to young people by politicians. The study showed that of the almost 37,000 campaign ads aired between July 1 and Oct. 15, about 64 percent were seen by people over 50. Only about 14 percent were seen by 18- to 34-year-olds.

"It's a catch-22," Pryor says: Young people don't vote because the issues they care about are not addressed by politicians; but politicians don't focus on younger people because their voting percentages are so low.

Will the trend be reversed next week? Among Harvard students, the high percentage of registered students suggests a large pool of possible voters.

"We were extremely successful," said E. Clarke Tucker '03, one of the co-chairs of the IOP's voter registration drive, which included handouts, guest speakers and an appearance by the band They Might Be Giants.

"I think Harvard students take their civic responsibility seriously, and we are taking this seriously," he adds.

The closest election in decades might turn out young people in bigger numbers. But the true test will come on Tuesday.