Spring Break
Election marked by low turnout
Ziegler victorious in Supreme Court race
Ryan Dostalek
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: Campus News
Students were asked Tuesday to participate in the statewide election that would determine, among other things, Eau Claire City Council members and state Supreme Court justices.
Senior Jeff Kern, one of the few students who came to Davies Center to cast a ballot, said that it was his duty to come to polls despite what the outcome might be.
"I believe that it is your responsibility to vote," he said, saying that nobody knows the outcome or how it will affect the community until after the election, but that deciding on the issues is relevant to all community members.
"If it wasn't important, they wouldn't hold an election."
Kern was one of the 6.2 percent of eligible voters who cast their ballots in Davies Center, a number that is low but not surprising to experts.
"It's not a surprise - we know students don't vote when they don't see an issue that directly affects them," political science professor and expert in voting behavior Geoff Peterson said, adding that students generally do not see the importance of city council elections.
Election workers at the polls in Davies Center also said April elections are generally slower, noting a high turnout when Eau Claire alumnus Brandon Buchanan ran for a seat on the Council last year.
Both junior Bria Paul and senior Krystal Kizewski said they were among the many who did not vote.
"I don't really follow politics that much," Paul said.
On this year's ballot, six seats for the City Council were up for grabs but none were contested.
This means that economics professor Thomas Kemp will be filling the District 3 spot vacated by Toby Biegel.
Kemp said he plans to help boost business opportunities in the city and make those opportunities available to students - all a part of what he calls a "sound development" plan.
"I am interested in creating opportunities for students at UW-Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley Technical College to own their own businesses in the city and become aware of other job opportunities (in Eau Claire)," he said, adding that it goes hand-in-hand with the downtown revitalization discussed by the City Council in the previous session.
Senior Jeff Kern, one of the few students who came to Davies Center to cast a ballot, said that it was his duty to come to polls despite what the outcome might be.
"I believe that it is your responsibility to vote," he said, saying that nobody knows the outcome or how it will affect the community until after the election, but that deciding on the issues is relevant to all community members.
"If it wasn't important, they wouldn't hold an election."
Kern was one of the 6.2 percent of eligible voters who cast their ballots in Davies Center, a number that is low but not surprising to experts.
"It's not a surprise - we know students don't vote when they don't see an issue that directly affects them," political science professor and expert in voting behavior Geoff Peterson said, adding that students generally do not see the importance of city council elections.
Election workers at the polls in Davies Center also said April elections are generally slower, noting a high turnout when Eau Claire alumnus Brandon Buchanan ran for a seat on the Council last year.
Both junior Bria Paul and senior Krystal Kizewski said they were among the many who did not vote.
"I don't really follow politics that much," Paul said.
On this year's ballot, six seats for the City Council were up for grabs but none were contested.
This means that economics professor Thomas Kemp will be filling the District 3 spot vacated by Toby Biegel.
Kemp said he plans to help boost business opportunities in the city and make those opportunities available to students - all a part of what he calls a "sound development" plan.
"I am interested in creating opportunities for students at UW-Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley Technical College to own their own businesses in the city and become aware of other job opportunities (in Eau Claire)," he said, adding that it goes hand-in-hand with the downtown revitalization discussed by the City Council in the previous session.
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