A few years ago in Las Vegas, the election results for city council members ended in a tie — causing the winner to be decided by drawing cards.
Kenneth Fernandez, assistant professor of political science at Elon University and director of the Elon University Poll, remembers this rare occurrence from his prior teaching stint at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Ever since, he has promoted students, especially freshmen, to vote in elections.
“For democracy to function, we can’t just sit back and watch,” Fernandez said. “We have to be proactive and be engaged.”
Though voting is considered a civic duty in the United States, some freshmen who recently turned 18 — the legal age to vote — view it as daunting task. Freshman Kyle Albertelli said since he doesn’t have enough knowledge about politics, he should not vote.
“Politics has never interested me, and I don’t follow it like I know I should,” Albertelli said. “I don’t think that I should cast an uninformed ballot that could potentially decide who the next leader of the free world will be.”
While many 18-year-olds agree with Albertelli’s reasoning, there are others who think the opposite. His classmates, freshmen Connor Quinn and Parker Schuppenhauer, enjoy the idea of voting for the first time and approach it seriously — something contrary to what they did when they were younger.
“I’ve definitely been more serious about it,” Schuppenhauer said. “I've actually been thinking about who I would vote for rather than making fun of the candidates like I did in years past. It’s actually a reality now — it’s not a dream.”
Quinn, who took a government and politics class in high school, said his family has always been heavily involved with voting. But by informing himself through watching the recent Republican and Democratic debates, his political awareness increased, making him value the significance of the 2016 election.
“I think you have to want to be educated about this,” he said. “When you actually know what’s going on, it becomes really interesting.”
Because of the diversity of this year’s presidential candidates, Fernandez said he thinks voter turnout will be especially high at Elon on Nov. 3, but he does expect some will shy away because of their lack of knowledge. But Fernandez said all it takes to make an informed decision is a brief online search, which anyone with a smartphone can do.
“At no point in history has there been such easy access to information,” Fernandez said. “Just by looking things up, you can create dialogue with your colleagues, which in turn can spark a greater interest in politics for the future.”
Fernandez said the university is taking the necessary steps to prepare students for Election Day. TurboVote, a university-sponsored online program, is available to assist students with voter registration in either North Carolina or their respective home states.
The political science department and campus organizations are also hosting numerous events, such as a dialogue panel on national immigration Oct. 20.
“If people learn about the process of electing and some of the key issues these candidates are discussing, the students will feel more engaged,” Fernandez said. “They will feel less intimidated and more inclined to go out. They’ll realize it’s actually a painless process.”
Numerous freshmen will be casting their ballot for the first time at the 2016 presidential election. Though Quinn said he is dreading the thought of enormous lines of voters on Election Day, he is ready to do something he has waited a long time for.