Lost in the division between red states and blue states, Obama and McCain, is a more fundamental distinction: Those who vote and those who do not.
Weinberg sophomore Nicholas Cizek is one of millions of eligible voters who will not be pulling a lever or mailing a ballot on Election Day.
Cizek said he believes voting is not worth the effort, since his single vote will not tip the scale in any one direction.
"I will kill myself if a president ever wins or loses an election by one vote," he said. "Until that happens, I'm going to be happy I didn't waste my time voting."
Cizek, from the swing state of Ohio, registered to "appease" his girlfriend. Though he is not planning to vote, Cizek said he still pays close attention to election coverage and has been watching the debates.
"Maybe one day I'll change my mind," he said. "(But) I feel like I'm actually doing the earth a favor not wasting the gas money to vote when one vote never matters."
If this year's election follows past patterns, Cizek will join about a third of eligible voters in sitting out on Nov. 4. During the last presidential election in 2004, 36 percent of voting-age citizens did not vote. But the numbers were higher among young voters: 53 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds did not participate.
People choose not to vote for different reasons, said Medill professor Jack Doppelt, author of "Nonvoters: America's No Shows." Some are reluctant to be called for jury duty. Others aren't educated about their state's voting laws, among other reasons, Doppelt said.
Some voters are turned off by the logistics of voting.
Weinberg freshman Leo Zhu "didn't want to go through absentee ballot registration" for his home state of California, he said.
"My state's a blue state, so there's no point," said Zhu, who would vote as a Democrat.
Other nonvoters feel disenchanted by the shallow political rhetoric of a general election, Doppelt said. Obama and McCain sounded like they were repeating themselves during Tuesday's debate, he said.
2008 Woodie Awards
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Andy
posted 10/12/08 @ 9:25 PM CST
So unimpressed with the logic of not voting? You're bored? Don't like the candidates? Do a little research (If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention). (Continued…)
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