College students don't care about voting their local elections

By Kallie O’Brien

    College students interviewed from Worcester, Massachusetts, said they do not plan on voting in local hometown elections as they only make it a priority to vote in presidential elections. 

College students voting in Massachusetts local elections has increased. In the election of 2020, 68 percent of students voted. This is an increase from 56 percent in 2016, according to Mass Students.

    “I only make sure to vote in presidential elections while I’m at school; I never really pay attention to local elections or even know who is running,” Madeline Ruggiero said.

    Some students in Worcester said they do not vote in local elections, but are planning to vote in the next presidential election. 

    Research shows there has been an increase in young voters in 2018 and 2020, according to Tufts University. “45 percent of young voters reported that they voted by mail or absentee ballot drop-off in the 2020 election,” according to Tufts University research.

College students of color were more likely to vote in-person and drop off their ballots, as opposed to more white college students being more likely to mail in their ballot, according to a Tufts University research report.

Abby Spitzer, 19, said that she was not going to vote in her local election in-person or through mail while she is at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She said she does not pay attention to local politics, and does not know anything about who is running.

Lindsey Sanderson, 20, said she does not plan to vote in local elections at all. She is too busy with school, work, and her job while she is at The University of Connecticut.

Ruggiero ,20, said that she plans to vote in presidential elections. She doesn’t have time to learn about local politics while she is studying at Fairfield University. 

Dany Gordon, 21, a student at Worcester State University, does not plan on voting. She said she doesn't care about these elections as much as bigger and more well-known elections.

Anthony Pingeton, 20, commutes to Anna Maria college in Paxton and lives at home, but does not plan on voting in the local elections. He said he feels the presidential elections are more important and that his vote will make more of an impact there.

After calling the Worcester election official, they were unable to speak for an interview. I talked to the assistant of the official’s office, Amber Lee, who said that there is not an exact number, but there is definitely an increase in young voters within the past few years. They see a lot more young voters coming in to vote and asking for ballots, Lee said.