Many students think their votes don't count, but Mayor Dan Canan remembers the number of votes that counted for him in the 2003 Election.
"I won by 453 votes," Canan said. "That's not a large number. If 454 students had voted for my opponent, I wouldn't be mayor."
Canan and Congressman Mike Pence spoke to students encouraging them to vote either in Muncie or their hometowns on Friday during the Student Government Association's voter registration drive.
Campaign representatives for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels helped students register to vote. However, because of a scheduling conflict, campaign representatives for Ralph Nader, presidential candidate, were not able to attend, SGA Senator Steve Geraci said.
"The people from the campaign were very good about approaching students as they walked by," Geraci said. "He (Pence) was very receptive to the students concerns."
More than 75 students registered to vote, and more than 20 students picked up the registration forms, SGA Senator Jessica Polley said.
"We want to raise the number of voters in our age group," Polley said. "It's important to be involved. It's the smallest, but most important way to help out."
Canan said he attributes student voter apathy to negative media coverage of national candidates. When students learn that one politician does something wrong, many students begin to think all politicians are like that, he said.
"People become disenchanted with politics," Canan said. "When students say 'one vote doesn't make a difference,' that's an easy cop out."
Despite low student turnout in the past, Geraci said the 2004 presidential election could move more students to vote because of the candidates and the issues. Both Geraci and Polley said they think the candidates will focus on issues that affect college students such as education and the war in Iraq.
"I'd like to show everyone in Washington, D.C. that we are important and we can make a difference," Geraci said.
SGA President Ben Tietz said the drive was a good opportunity for students to meet politicians and to get voting information.
"Any voter registration drive is a success if at least one person registers to vote," Tietz said.
Because of the voter registration drive's success, Geraci said SGA is already planning the next drive for the Fall semester.
"I think it is just a stepping stone that will only get better with each drive we do," Geraci said.
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