Northwestern students are notoriously apathetic. Sure we’ll come out in force when we’re threatened with the possibility of homelessness, but when push comes to shove, we tend to acquiesce to administrators’ decisions demands (New Student Center, anyone?). So how politically involved are Northwestern students? We looked at student voting patterns at Northwestern and our oft-compared top-tier neighbor, UChicago. The results after the jump.
The percentage of Northwestern students voting in ASG elections has remained stagnant over the past five years—save the 2009 election between Mike McGee and Bill Pulte where 50 percent of undergrads voted. Taking the McGee/Pulte outlier race out of consideration, NU has seen an average voter turnout of 38.5 percent.
UChicago, on the other hand, has seen a downward trend after peaking with three years with more than 50 percent voter turnout between 2006 and 2008. The percentage of undergrads voting in student government elections has dipped into the mid-30s for the past two years.
So chances are—if you’re an “average” Northwestern student—you’ll skip out of tomorrow’s elections. We know, your busy. Voting requires clicks and making a decision. But you’re a good multi-tasker, right? We’re sure you can squeeze a little time in between tweeting and playing Angry Birds in the middle of class.
