The Turf allowed in anybody over the age of 18 for free food if they participated in early voting.
The North Dakota Democratic Party held an early voting party at the Turf Thursday, Nov. 1 for those who have voted already. I sat down and asked members of NDSU College Democrats why they think voting is important, why they think some students don’t vote and what can be done to increase voter turnout for college students.
Erica Solberg (ES): Why is it important for college students to vote?
Colby Warzecha (CW), vice president of NDSU College Democrats: “One of my political science teachers from back in high school said that one of the biggest indicators if someone will vote is if they voted in the previous election. So establishing that habit of voting is really important.”
Hajira Hassan (HH), freshman at NDSU majoring in elementary education: “Not that long ago, like 30 years ago, people were fighting for the right to vote, and how people are not voting because they think that they cannot make a change. I believe that if you do vote, you can change the world and change your generation.”
ES: What hinders students from voting?
CW: “It’s a new responsibility that you have as a legal America. It’s something you sometimes pass up because you think your vote won’t make a difference. But there are many, many races in the country and world that were decided by one vote, so don’t let that discourage you from voting.”
HH: “Some people I’ve talked to don’t vote because they don’t think it is going to make a difference to what is happening right now. They are lazy. They don’t want to get to know what is going on in their world right now. Just because horrible things happened in the past doesn’t mean we need to repeat the history.”
ES: What can be done to get more college students to vote?
HH: “More should be done in the curriculum in high schools to teach politics. Instead of teaching the same science and math courses, they should teach about what is going on in the world and in their own country.”
Anna Diederich, deputy campaign manager for Mac Schneider: “College organizations like (NDSU) College Democrats and other grass roots organizations can help get students involved and motivated to vote.”