Voter turnout in the city runoff election Tuesday was at a typical low, attracting about 14 percent of the 72,176 registered voters.
Judging from precinct turnout, the number of UF students who voted in the runoff was modest as well, said Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter.
It is impossible to generate the exact number of UF students who vote in city elections, Carpenter said, because voters are not asked to identify themselves as students on their voter registration application.
The Supervisor of Elections Office follows the makeup of the neighborhoods around campus, and it uses that knowledge to estimate student voter turnout.
Students who live on campus vote at the Reitz Union. Out of 4,131 registered voters, 48 people voted at that location in the runoff.
The Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art had a combined turnout of 365 voters out of about 8,878 registered voters. Residents who live in apartment complexes bordering Archer Road, like The Estates and Oxford Manor, voted at The Phillips Center and the Harn.
Residents who live along University Avenue east of 34th Street voted at Campus Church of Christ. Out of 829 registered voters, 189 people voted in the runoff.
Stephen Smith, a 21-year-old political science senior, said he’s not the least bit surprised by student voter turnout.
“It’s expected, especially in a runoff” he said. “Voting involves some effort to get to know the candidates, and students just don’t want to put in that effort.”
Some of UF’s political organizations tried to inform students and encourage them to vote, Smith said.
Both the UF College Democrats and UF College Republicans worked during the regular city election and the runoff to inform students about candidates and get them out to the polls.
UF College Democrats held a campaign during regular elections, Vote 100, in an effort to get 100 students to commit to voting in the citywide election. The organization got about 150 to vote in the regular election on Jan. 31.
According to Erin Murphy, president of UF College Democrats, the campaign stemmed from the city’s mayoral race in 2010 in which Mayor Craig Lowe won by 42 votes.
“One hundred students can determine a race,” the 21-year-old environmental science senior said. “Students need to realize that.”
Contact Adrianna Paidas at apaidas@alligator.org.
