by Anna Wood
State-level elections that take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3, will affect the country on a national level.
Voting is a constitutional right for every American citizen, yet many don’t make it to the polls.
While it is hard to know the exact number of students who end up voting since it is a confidential system, the average number of college-age voters is declining. According to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, in 2024, only 54.7% of registered voters ages 17 through 24 ended up voting.
Although many young people feel they lack the knowledge that is necessary for voting, voting is a way to make sure their political needs are being met. However, in choosing not to vote, the issues that young people are concerned with do not get visibility.
“This lack of representation at the polls means that young people’s issues are being virtually ignored by political candidates,” said the Brendon Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy organization at NYU Law.
The Fair Elections Center said, “Students are less likely to register and vote if they feel they lack adequate knowledge about the voting process or policies and positions of candidates, or the connection between issues they care about and voting.”
While voting may intimidate young people, getting in the habit of voting on the local level is a way to introduce students to political involvement and the political process.
“Local elections are the ones that are often easiest for young adults to watch closely, comprehend, and even get involved with directly,” said Stephen Clements, professor of political science.
When it comes to local elections, it is easy to go to campaign events and talk to people. Once students meet the candidates, “they can go watch them in action at the local municipal center or nearby meeting hall, or they can just bump into them on the street and have a quick chat about how things are going,” Clements said.
While engaging with local elections can introduce students to political involvement, student participation in state and national elections can still provide value.
“State candidates tend to be more partisan, but it is still also possible for students to be involved in these campaigns and follow state legislative developments,” said Clements. “While students sometimes become enamored with national political debates—and I obviously encourage that—developments in Washington DC at any given point among Congress, the executive branch, or the federal courts are often opaque to many observers… Developments at the local and state level are often easier to follow and understand in terms of personal impact on our day to day lives.”
Making a point to pay attention to local and national issues that are supported through elections develops political literacy, meaning there is an understanding of how the government runs with the use of critical thinking and knowledge.
“The other things is get in the habit of voting while you’re young. So often students may not be particularly well informed voters, especially when it comes to local politics, but you start getting in the habit of voting, then over time, you’re trying to vote every election so you can take it more seriously,” Gelen Harden, professor of political science, said.
Every two years, residents of each state will vote for the future senators representing their state in the national office. On top of voting for the Senate, there are local elections, also known as municipal elections, that, according to Rock The Vote, “determine local officials, like mayors and clerks, and policies that affect daily life: housing, roads, law enforcement, schools and other community services.”
If historically student voting in local elections is low, it makes many students wonder why voting matters now. Local elections make a difference because they determine how the state will be run for the entire year.
This vote decides issues like money distribution for universities in the area.
“In terms of AU, for example, what happens in Frankfort each legislative session is more likely to have a direct impact on our campus than what happens in Washington, DC,” Clements said.
Local elections are a way for citizens to influence their community.
Out-of-state residents can register to vote in their state online, request an absentee ballot and send in the filled-out absentee ballot to their home state. Votes are counted the same whether someone goes to the polling place in person. For students wanting more information about voting and voting registration, they can visit vote.gov.
“I believe…democracy and voting is an expression of love for my neighbor,” Harden said. He touched on the “angry divisiveness” seen in political culture today, saying the anger can be flipped “in a loving and kind way,” through voting.
