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The Mac Weekly

The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

Mac students show lackluster turnout in previous elections

The NSLVE Campus Report on Macalester College reported that, in the 2012 Presidential Election, Mac had a 74.8% voter registration rate among American citizens.  However, only 45.5% of Mac students voted in that election. In the 2014, 68.6% registered, and a meager 27.75% voted. Despite having a reputation of being politically active, Macalester had comparable voter turnout to private and public bachelor’s institutions in 2012. In 2014, Mac beat out other institutions with 27.7% of students voting, compared to the all institution average of 18.8%. Data courtesy of Professor Karen Saxe. Graphic by Will Milch ’19.
The NSLVE Campus Report on Macalester College reported that, in the 2012 Presidential Election, Mac had a 74.8% voter registration rate among American citizens. However, only 45.5% of Mac students voted in that election. In the 2014, 68.6% registered, and a meager 27.75% voted. Despite having a reputation of being politically active, Macalester had comparable voter turnout to private and public bachelor’s institutions in 2012. In 2014, Mac beat out other institutions with 27.7% of students voting, compared to the all institution average of 18.8%. Data courtesy of Professor Karen Saxe. Graphic by Will Milch ’19.

Macalester is proud of its identity as a politically active campus. Mac students are vocal about their ideas in class, Café Mac and online. But when it comes to voting, Mac falls drastically short of its civic duties. The NSLVE Campus Report showed that in the 2012 National Election, only 45.5 percent of eligible students voted. This was less than the average participation for all bachelor’s institutions in that election. For the 2014 Midterm Election, this value plummeted to 27.7 percent. In contrast, for both years, the registration rates were 74.8 percent and 68.6 percent respectively. Based on the data, Mac students are passionate in their speech and remember to register, but drag their feet come Election Day.

This disparity belies the community’s passion for political issues. And the high rates of voter registration suggest that students have the resources necessary to participate in elections. Whatever the cause, the data show that Mac students are not taking full advantage of the privilege of voting. And that should change.

This election cycle, vote! Help show that Macalester is political not only in language, but also in action. Activism is significant to the Mac identity, and that activism should include voting. On November 8th, we hope to see you at the polls.

The NSLVE Campus Report on Macalester College reported that, in the 2012 Presidential Election, Mac had a 74.8% voter registration rate among American citizens.  However, only 45.5% of Mac students voted in that election. In the 2014, 68.6% registered, and a meager 27.75% voted. Despite having a reputation of being politically active, Macalester had comparable voter turnout to private and public bachelor’s institutions in 2012. In 2014, Mac beat out other institutions with 27.7% of students voting, compared to the all institution average of 18.8%. Data courtesy of Professor Karen Saxe. Graphic by Will Milch ’19.
]1 The NSLVE Campus Report on Macalester College reported that, in the 2012 Presidential Election, Mac had a 74.8% voter registration rate among American citizens. However, only 45.5% of Mac students voted in that election. In the 2014, 68.6% registered, and a meager 27.75% voted. Despite having a reputation of being politically active, Macalester had comparable voter turnout to private and public bachelor’s institutions in 2012. In 2014, Mac beat out other institutions with 27.7% of students voting, compared to the all institution average of 18.8%. Data courtesy of Professor Karen Saxe. Graphic by Will Milch ’19.
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