Although no presidential or congressional candidates are on today’s ballot, the Athens mayoral election and various statewide issues being presented have the College Democrats and College Republicans pressing students to get out and vote.
Both of OU’s partisan political organizations have weighed in on the issues, most notably Issue 2 — a repeal of Ohio’s Senate Bill 5.
This weekend, members of OU’s College Democrats knocked on more than 1,300 doors and made phone calls around Athens. They will continue to do so until the polls close tonight, said President Nick Tuell.
“As College Democrats for this election, we’re not just trying to get votes out for Democrats but for an idea that affects and is supported by everyone in Athens,” he said.
Tuell said College Democrats are in support of the repeal of Senate Bill 5 and have been encouraging students to vote “no” on Issue 2, which will abolish SB 5 if it is voted down.
SB 5 is a highly controversial bill passed into law earlier this year that limits the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Tuell wants more students to vote to help change what he described as a general opinion that there is a lack of interest from students.
“We want students to vote … we are a demographic that isn’t intended to have a strong voice in politics, something that is not going to change unless students come out and vote so politicians will listen to us,” he said.
Historically, the majority of OU students have not voted in non-presidential elections, according to a previous Post article.
In the 2010 election, 40.7 percent of registered voters in Athens participated in the election, but of the registered voters in the mainly on-campus, student-housing precincts, only 9.6 percent voted, according to the Athens County Board of Elections.
If every undergraduate and graduate student enrolled at Ohio University voted during the last election, it would have exceeded the total number of voters by 2,417, according to a previous Post article.
Members of College Democrats are also encouraging voters to vote “no” on Issue 3, which relates to health care reform, and “yes” on Issue 16, which relates to developmental disabilities, he said.
As for the mayoral election, the College Democrats are in full support of voting Democratic Incumbent Mayor Paul Wiehl into a second term, Tuell said.
“It’s important to have a leader as accessible as him in office to maintain growth to this community,” he said.
OU’s chapter of College Republicans has worked to educate voters as well.
“There are a lot of miscommunications out there about issues this year,” said Crescent Gallagher, former vice president of College Republicans.
Members of College Republicans have been making phones calls supporting both Issue 2 and Issue 3 and have gone door to door to speak with voters about issues, Gallagher said.
Issue 2 has been one of the most talked-about topics leading to the election.
“I think Issue 2 has gotten more emotion campaigning rather than statistics, which I think has led a lot of people to having a misconception on Issue 2,” Gallagher said.
For the mayoral race, College Republicans supports Republican Challenger Randy Morris.
“(Morris) is an actual candidate that looks forward to student input and cares about students, which is rarely seen in Athens,” Gallagher said.
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