The solution to student election apathy

Another student government election is behind us.  A fine group of individuals will take office July 1 and will more than likely continue the fine work by the ARC Students for Change ticket that held office for one full year.  Their textbook rental program, digital signage, election reform, and shared governance work has added greatly to the ARC community.  It's a shame that only 563 students voted in the election.

Of a campus with 40,000 students, 563 have decided on who will represent us all. Something has to change.

Voter apathy runs rampant in community college elections. It has been discussed at length the whys of it. There is a distict sense that students view the community college experience as a mere stepping stone to greater things.

When one does not feel a true sense of attatchment to something, one is less likely to attempt to participate in activities related to that thing.

People make a variety of excuses as to why they don't vote. The weather was poor, they don't know who they are voting for. Perhaps they feel the student government doesn't actually do anything to help them. They might feel misrepresented. Perhaps they feel as though it takes too much time to go to the polling places, time they are already spending in class or out of it doing homework.

Maybe they simply don't want to.

Whatever the reasons behind a lacking turnout, an online voting system would greatly increase voter participation.

Electoral politics is simple—if you have the votes, you have the power.  California's community college system is almost three million students strong.  This is a sizable block of voters—voters that could hold a lot of political power if they actually voted.

ARC Student Association Vice President elect Jeremy Palmer said, "If we had significantly higher election turnout, we would have significantly more clout when we advocate for the student body population on the state level."

Students can register online, share credit card information online, and pay for classes online as well as a host of other activities.  There is no good reason why students shouldn't be able to vote online.

Newly elected ARC SA Director of Finance Jeff Bellamy said, "Online voting is a groundswell movement that is going to have a huge impact on the ability of the student senate to influence lawmakers statewide. "We're not going to stop until we get what we want," he added.

The Current urges all students to advocate for online voting.