Staff Reports
Campus Ledger employees polled face-to-face classes on students’ interest in voting and the upcoming presidential election in late September 2016.
A total of 106 surveys were returned, with a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Sixty-six respondents (62 percent) of the 106 surveyed indicated that they were registered to vote, while 40 respondents (38 percent) indicated they were unregistered. Of those 40 students, roughly half (19 respondents, or 48 percent) indicated that they plan to register before the deadline of Oct. 18.
Out of the 85 students who responded that they either are currently registered to vote or plan to register, 78 (93 percent) indicated that they plan to vote in the Nov. 8 general election, while six (7 percent) indicated that they do not plan to vote on Nov. 8.
Of those 20 students who indicated they will not register to vote or vote in the election, three (15 percent) said politics does not interest them, 10 (50 percent) do not support any of the candidates for president, while six students (30 percent) indicated that they were either an international student or under the age of 18, rendering them ineligible to vote.
Of the students who responded that they are registered or will register, 33 (or 39 percent) indicated that they would vote for Hillary Clinton (D) on Nov. 8. Of those same students, 13 (or 15 percent) indicated that they would vote for Donald Trump (R). Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received stated support from eight respondents (9 percent), while 27 students (32 percent) indicated they were still undecided about which candidate they would vote for in the general election.
Finally, students were asked about the issues that matter the most to them during this election year; those surveyed were allowed to choose multiple answers from the list given to them. The issue of economic stability received a majority of votes, with 61 respondents (58 percent) indicating it was an important issue to them. The issue of education came in second, with 55 respondents (52 percent) indicating its importance to them.
On a wider scale, according to a 2016 survey of JCCC voters conducted by the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, of 20,018 students enrolled at the college in 2012, there were 11,375 students (or 59 percent) registered to vote. Of those who were registered to vote, 7,830 students (or 69 percent) voted in the 2012 presidential election. These numbers were slightly higher than at other peer institutions in that same year.
The deadline to register to vote in this year’s general election is Oct. 18. Voter registration forms are available at the Student Welcome Desk on the first floor of the Student Center, or visit the Johnson County Election Office’s website at www.jocoelection.org for more information about registration and polling places.