Election Day Turnout
Are people still interested?
Paige Osburn
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: News
The 2008 presidential elections marked the third highest turnout rate among young people since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1970. But despite that recent surge, the youth interest in politics-at least in the recent Illinois primaries-would appear to have dwindled considerably.
But not for everyone.
"I knew I'd eventually have to do it on my own, get that civic experience for myself."
Sadia Iqbal is a junior undergraduate student at Loyola University. While many students spent their Tuesdays in class or at work, Iqbal signed up for the Equipment Manager position at the Evanston polling station nearest her school, a task that required eight hours of training the weekend before and a hefty $500 paycheck.
"I'm a political science major so that's what initially drove me to get a job doing something in the primaries," says Iqbal. "As for equipment managing… I had no idea what they did. So I came in just because I was curious about the process. For most kids, though, it's the $500. A month's rent for a day's work? Priceless."
When asked whether she thought youth voter attention had dwindled, Iqbal upholds that "a lot of people still care."
"I just also think a lot of people in college aren't from Illinois. And when it's the Illinois primaries and you aren't from here it's out of kind of like 'Why would we be interested? This doesn't affect us.'"
Trevor Layton, Media Coordinator for the County Clerk's Office and a DePaul graduate student, is skeptical that this sentence applies only to out-of-towners.
"With the Obama elections back in '08 we had a 70% voter turnout rate," he points out. "25 percent or so turned out Tuesday. Clearly something between the two changed, particularly with young people."
According to the Office of Institutional Planning and Research, only 20% of full-time undergraduates enrolled at DePaul are from out-of-state…and nearly 70% of undergrads are from the Chicago area. This fact would seem to support the assertion that not everything can be explained away by calling "out of state."
But not for everyone.
"I knew I'd eventually have to do it on my own, get that civic experience for myself."
Sadia Iqbal is a junior undergraduate student at Loyola University. While many students spent their Tuesdays in class or at work, Iqbal signed up for the Equipment Manager position at the Evanston polling station nearest her school, a task that required eight hours of training the weekend before and a hefty $500 paycheck.
"I'm a political science major so that's what initially drove me to get a job doing something in the primaries," says Iqbal. "As for equipment managing… I had no idea what they did. So I came in just because I was curious about the process. For most kids, though, it's the $500. A month's rent for a day's work? Priceless."
When asked whether she thought youth voter attention had dwindled, Iqbal upholds that "a lot of people still care."
"I just also think a lot of people in college aren't from Illinois. And when it's the Illinois primaries and you aren't from here it's out of kind of like 'Why would we be interested? This doesn't affect us.'"
Trevor Layton, Media Coordinator for the County Clerk's Office and a DePaul graduate student, is skeptical that this sentence applies only to out-of-towners.
"With the Obama elections back in '08 we had a 70% voter turnout rate," he points out. "25 percent or so turned out Tuesday. Clearly something between the two changed, particularly with young people."
According to the Office of Institutional Planning and Research, only 20% of full-time undergraduates enrolled at DePaul are from out-of-state…and nearly 70% of undergrads are from the Chicago area. This fact would seem to support the assertion that not everything can be explained away by calling "out of state."
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