While the attention of most students this past Saturday focused on waking up in time for Saturday’s early morning kickoff of the LSU football game, few of them actually made time to perform what for young people might be an even more formidable task: voting.
Ah yes, that glorious right bestowed on every American by the blood, sweat and tears of those who came before us. The cornerstone of our wonderful republic and the solemn duty of every citizen for generations. I know you’ve all heard this before.
Granted, voting for the glamorous offices of insurance commissioner and secretary of state might not capture the imagination quite the same way a presidential race would, but nevertheless even these offices should not be overlooked because they can actually play an important role in our government.
Sadly, though, many of our fellow students did not take the time to vote. Students who did not vote should not expect to have politicians listen to them. The first task of a politician is to get elected, and since we never vote, they don’t listen to us. It’s that simple.
With that being said, it becomes hard for me to chastise the average college student for not voting when a political junkie like me did not even make it to the polls. The difficulty I found in voting resided not in the short time it would take to drive to the nearest polling station and pull the lever. The process is easy enough.
Students who are Baton Rouge natives don’t need to worry about the inconvenience of leaving town and going back home to vote. But I live in Lafayette and am registered to vote there. So that means every election day I must commute an hour to Woodvale Elementary School and then drive an hour back to LSU.
When Louisiana sets its elections on Saturdays in September, it tempts fate to intervene because football is king in this state. For most people, it takes precedence over everything else.
In some ways, weekend voting makes sense. Less people work on the weekends, so it gives them less of an excuse to skip voting. More entertaining events, however, can conspire to distract us from fulfilling our noble civic duty. That was certainly the case this weekend.
If state Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, had not been on the ballot, turnout might have been even lower. Out of approximately 250,000 registered voters in this parish, only about 57,000 voted in the secretary of state race and even less did so in other races. Dardenne made the runoff based largely on attaining 60 percent of the vote in East Baton Rouge Parish. He will face state Sen. Francis Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, in the November runoff. Al Ater, current secretary of state, chose not to run after taking over for the late Fox McKeithen, who died in office last summer.
In the race for insurance commissioner, incumbent Jim Donelon, R-Metarie, who took over for retiring democrat Robert Wooley, narrowly held off state Sen. James David Cain, R-Dry Creek, to avoid a runoff and retain the seat.
Despite the apathy in this last election, turnout in primary elections is traditionally low, and a better test of voter interest probably lies in the November elections with the secretary of state runoff and congressional elections.
“In general, holding elections on Saturdays makes it easier for voters to get to the polls, although that wasn’t the case this time” says William Blair, political science instructor. “But close congressional races and the secretary of state runoff should increase turnout in November even though the election will be held on a Tuesday.”
The effects of Hurricane Katrina’s voter displacement will be fully realized for the first time in a statewide election, and more accurate assessments of the voting implications in Baton Rouge and elsewhere will be made.
The best way to make certain to vote without having to miss a football game is to request an absentee ballot. Any LSU student not from East Baton Rouge Parish can get an absentee ballot between six and 12 days before an election. This means you don’t have to drive home on election day, and you can still go to the game. LSU sponsors a program called “Project Geaux,” which encourages students to register to vote.
Next time, more coverage of elections should be provided in this newspaper and in other student media to help everyone understand the issues and candidates involved, and most importantly in knowing when and how to vote. Hopefully the lessons learned in this election will translate into more participation and interest in the future.
—–Contact Winston Skinner at wskinner@lsureveille.com