SGA Calls On More Student Voters

   Dozens of new voters are signed up after the Student Government Association (SGA) recently concluded its voting registration initiative at the University of North Texas. The SGA is calling on students to vote in the upcoming primaries in March and midterm elections in November. The initiative, which lasted from Oct. 2, 2017, until

Jan. 30 of this year, resulted in the registration of

over 60 students, said Barrett Cole, SGA president

at UNT.

   One of the SGA’s major goals is increasing student

involvement in the voting process, as it is known that

student turnout in elections has been significantly

low in the past. According to the Pew Research

Center, less than half of the eligible voter population

of millennials said that they voted in the 2016

presidential election. This number decreases

significantly during midterm elections, where a total of 12 percent of the eligible voter population under the age of 30 voted in 2014, according to a poll done by NBC.

   Cole encourages student involvement in local government.

   “Many issues that students face both on and off campus are decisions that someone in a locally elected position is making,” Cole said. “The power of a few voters could change the landscape of our local government, which is not a responsibility to take lightly.”

Students’ opinions on voting vary greatly.

   “I try to educate myself on who's running for what and their positions as best I can,” said Nicholas Adams, a junior at UNT who said he sees the value in actively voting in every election.

   Many other students believed that the election process was too partisan.

   “Even though I think voting is really important, for me and my county, it makes no difference,” said Ashley Lester, a UNT senior.

   She described her experience of voting in the previous presidential election, where she was the only Democrat in line at her voting poll location in Collin County.

   Other students said they believed that local elections had no direct impact on their life.

   “Unless it has something to do with funding or state parks, then I don't really care,” said Megan Mehlow, a UNT junior.

   Despite this, Cole said she hopes that the UNT community heads to the polls in March for the primaries understanding the power they have to make a difference locally.

   “(UNT’s enrollment of) 37,000 students is a higher number than some elected officials’ entire constituencies, so it is vital for students to know that they have a voice and that it is one worth listening to,” Cole said.