Voter apathy
continued from page 1A
Chair of Law and Politics for 2000.
“Attitudes of disenchantment
have escalated in the American
electorate,” she said. “It’s true of
Americans in general.”
The rise of “big money” in poli
tics contributes to the increasing dis
enchantment of voters, Piven said,
and the slick “party politicians” of
today make it difficult for voters to
distinguish between their ideas.
“They’re all saying the same
thing,” she said. “It’s almost impos
sible to figure out that they’re not
saying the same thing; they’re all
for saving Social Security, reducing
the deficit and cutting taxes. ”
While Oregon voters are more
likely to turn out in presidential
elections than voters in other
states, according to statistics from
the Federal Elections Commis
sion, many students don’t vote.
An average of 77 percent of Ore
gon voters have turned out for
presidential elections in the last
20 years, versus the average of
roughly 50 percent of registered
American voters across the nation.
But Amy Cody, an assistant to
the secretary of state, said it has
been a challenge to get students to
vote, and that student voter
turnout has been lower compared
to the general population.
“We talk with a lot of citizens
who lead such busy lives, they
don’t even havq the basic informa
tion like where to vote, when to
vote or where to get unbiased infor
mation,” Cody said. “The ballot is
often overwhelming, and a lot of
people feel they’re not educated
enough, or that the issues are not
that important or relevant to them. ”
And student voters seem even
less likely to vote in local elections,
Cody said. She suggested that since
most of the student population is
transient, moving between their
hometown and Eugene each year,
students often don’t vote in elec
tions in either place.
DeFazio
continued from page 1A
hair. ”
As the state’s longest-serving
congressman, DeFazio, 52, said he
is proud to represent such an “in
credibly diverse” district, one that
stretches from Sweet Home south
to Brookings. He said commuting
to the capital from his home in
Springfield, instead of the other
way around, has helped keep him
in touch with his constituency
and, he joked, annually earns him
20,000 frequent flyer bonus miles.
Among those in attendance
Tuesday were political friends
state Sen. Susan Castillo, city
Councilor David Kelly, state Rep.
Floyd Prozanski and County Com
missioner Bill Dwyer.
“The bottom line for Peter is who
are the winners and who are the
losers when legislation is intro
duced,” Dwyer said. “He fights for
the losers. He stands for fairness
and justice, and he’ll do a good job
in the next session of Congress. ”
DeFazio currently serves on the
House Resource Committee, which
has jurisdiction over the Bon
neville Power Administration; is a
member of the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee; and is
the ranking democrat on the Coast
Guard and Maritime Transporta
tion subcommittee.
Originally from Needham,
Mass., DeFazio received his under
graduate and master’s degrees from
the University and served on the
Lane County Board of Commis
sioners from 1982-86. He is recog
nized for passionate views on trade
policy, issues addressing the envi
ronment and his role in founding
the Progressive Caucus, which he
Each vote counts
For voters who think that “one vote won’t make a difference,” the Federal
Elections Commission offers several examples of when it has:
Robert Emond won the race for Vermont state representative in 1977 against
Sydney Nixon, 572 to 571.
A Lansing, Mich., school district millage proposition failed in 1989, with the fi
nal recount produced a tie vote, 5,147 for and 5,147 against. The result meant
that the school district had to reduce its budget by $2.5 million.
Republican Randall Luthl and Independent Larry Call tied for the seat in the
Wyoming House of Representatives from the Jackson Hole area in 1994, with
1,941 votes each. Luthl was finally declared the winner when, in a drawing be
fore the State Canvassing Board, a ping-pong ball with his name on it was
pulled from the cowboy hat of Gov. Mike Sullivan.
SOURCE: Federal Elections Commission
“The statistics show that people
in our age group overwhelmingly
don’t vote,” said Kristina Saleh, an
assistant director of public infor
mation for Project Vote Smart.
“For many people, it’s that they
don’t want to feel manipulated —
they want to know their vote
counts for something. ”
Many student voters are also
suspicious of many political can
didates, Saleh said, believing the
candidates will say or do anything
to win their vote.
Whatever the reasons behind low
voter turnout, elections officials
stressed the importance of exercis
ing the right to vote. With the No
vember presidential election and the
large number of measures on the bal
lot, Cody said there are issues and
initiatives that will affect everyone.
Solutions to increasing
voter turnout
The Internet is the wave of the
future for getting students politi
cally involved, Saleh said. It’s the
most important source for gather
ing political information for about
70 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds,
according to a recent Project Vote
Smart poll — a fact that struck
Saleh as a sign of the times.
“The Internet appeals to people
because it offers all. the informa
tion right at their fingertips,” Saleh
said. “It’s also a sign students are
voting smarter and opening them
formed in response to Newt Gin
grich’s Contract for America.
“He’s shown himself to be a
leader in many areas,” local ac
tivist Norma Grier said. “He’s been
an outspoken critic on the public’s
right to know, and I’ve personally
seen him shopping at local
farmer’s markets. ”
Grier also commented on the con
gressman’s participation in march
es with protesters in Seattle last No
vember against the World Trade
Organization as testament to his en
thusiasm for grass-roots organizing.
“Standing shoulder-to-shoulder
with activists in the streets of Seat
tle,” she said, “I think that says a
lot about the man DeFazio is.”
To date, two Republican chal
lengers have announced plans to
unseat the seven-term congress
man: John Lindsey, a county com
missioner from Albany, and Capt.
Wendell Robinson of the Winston
Dillard Fire Department. Conduct
ing a word-of-mouth campaign
thus far in Southern Oregon,
Robinson said he’s filed for the
race because- he believes it’s time
for a change.
“I consider myself a conserva
tive,” he said. “And I’d like to see
some conservative representation
I don’t think we have now. ”
After enlisting a number of agen
da items still needing work in Wash
ington, including a patient’s bill of
rights, opposing school vouchers
and special interest groups, DeFazio
concluded his re-election speech by
promising to reaffirm his commit
ment on such issues.
“Something is wrong when the
list is longer than when I first was
elected,” he said. “But I’m still up
to the fight, I’m willing to go
against the grain even if I have to
standalone.”
selves up to more information.”
As a result of the poll, Project
Vote Smart has focused on making
most of its voter awareness infor
mation available on-line to attract
more students.
Some student voters who feel
shut out of the two-party political
system have watched with inter
est as other political parties like
the Reform Party have gained na
tional attention.
Piven said she hopes the emer
gence of political parties outside
the current two-party system will
have a positive impact on Ameri
can politics and revive the influ
ence of voters.
“If they succeed in threatening
the major parties by attracting a
large number of votes, the major po
litical parties will be forced to ad
dress the issues they raise,” Piven
said. “It’s far less likely that they’ll
capture the White House, but it’s
less important that they capture the
White House than if they succeed
in reforming the major parties.”
Many voters have complained
about candidates’ using negative
campaigning tactics or spending
too much money on their cam
I' '—-—~~
paigns. But Americans are not go
ing to eliminate propaganda or the
role of money in politics, Piven
said. Instead, voters should concen
trate on limiting the role money and
propaganda plays in elections.
Focusing more on forming so
cial movements will force the
politicians to carry out the will of
the American voters, she said.
“Students should try to see the
levers that are available to them in
two-party politics,” Piven said. She
said the best way for voters to get
their voices heard is to join political
action committees and other organ
izations and to participate in more
grass-roots social movements.
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