Despite receiving the right to vote 34 years ago with the passage of the 26th Amendment, 18 to 20-year-olds still have the lowest voter turnout rate among all ages, according to Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Students should be front and center in politics because they will learn skills that they can use in life after college, said Mary Kirlin, assistant professor for the Public Policy and Administration Graduate program at Sacramento State.

“Voting is an opportunity for a voice to be heard and expresses something that needs to be expressed,” Kirlin said. She said that Americans have seen enough close elections to understand that votes count.

Registered students will get a chance to use that voice to either pass or reject eight statewide propositions on Tuesday’s ballot.

Groups and organizations at Sac State have registered over 400 voters in October, second only to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo among California State Universities, said Curtis Grima, secretary of state affairs for Associated Students Inc.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, ASI will hold an election day in the library quad which will include pro and con tabling for each proposition and speakers discussing the issues, said Olgalilia Ramirez, director of governmental affairs.

Other Sac State groups – such as Democracy Matters, College Democrats, College Republicans, Environmental Student Organization and National Organization of Women – have been active in educating and registering students for the election.

During the 2004 presidential election, young people had the greatest increase in turnout from 2000 going from 36 to 47 percent – an 11-point increase, said Ash Roughani, president of Democracy Matters, a non-partisan organization.

“We just want to keep that momentum going,” Roughani said.

However, since 1982, both college students and people in the age group have been far less likely to turnout during midterm elections or nonpresidential elections, according to the center for civic learning.

Ramirez said she was concerned about the awareness of the Nov. 8 election among students,

“Some people don’t even know about the special election.”

ASI and other groups have worked to combat this lack of awareness by highlighting propositions on the ballot that they think are important to students.

ASI adopted a resolution at its meeting Oct. 26 to oppose Proposition 76; an initiative that would eliminate the state minimum on school funding requirements.

The California State Students Association also voted to come out against the proposition, Grima said.

“It’s affecting students because it will hurt entitlement programs like Cal Grants,” Ramirez said. Cal Grant awards are state funded grants given to students to help pay for tuition and other expenses.

Ramirez said, if passed, Proposition 76 will hurt democracy because it takes power from the state legislature and puts it in the hands of the governor.

Vice President of Membership for College Democrats, Kelli Farr, said that her organization is trying to get word out about the ballot measures to make up for the lack of coverage in the media.

The College Democrats, she said, are against the propositions, especially the measure that requires minors to get parental permission before getting an abortion, Proposition 73.

“The trend on campus is that a lot of college kids aren’t registered,” Farr said.

Regina Harsh, a philosophy and linguistics senior and member of the College Republicans, said her group supports Proposition 77, the redistricting measure, because it will give the Republican Party better odds in obtaining legislative seats.

A member of Democracy Matters, Shannon McKinley, said students should be aware of which organizations and businesses are putting down the big bucks and “buying the election.”

Whatever stance you choose, Kirlin said voting should be an informed choice about public policy.

“My only worry is that (act of) voting is sufficient, you can check the box and say ‘I’m done,'” Kirlin said.

Sac State faculty should be finding ways to bring current events into classrooms to engage students, Kirlin said. She also said as a part of her graduate curriculum, her students researched the propositions.

Kirlin said that there is an effort on campus to get students more engaged in politics because although volunteering is rising among youth, political participation is falling off.

Kirlin said that Sac State, through the American Democracy Project, is looking to foster linkages between community service and political activism.

Jessica Weidling can be reached at [email protected]