warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

L.A. Mayoral Election Stirs Apathy In Youth Vote

Hayley Burgess |
March 5, 2013 | 8:40 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

The student vote in particular seemed to be missing in Tuesday's election. (Neon Tommy)
The student vote in particular seemed to be missing in Tuesday's election. (Neon Tommy)

While "get out the vote" campaigns and young voter registration efforts have been largely successful, voter apathy has been one of the biggest obstacles in the current Los Angeles mayoral race, according to a recent poll done by USC Price and the LA Times.

Many young voters were largely unexposed to the candidates’ campaigns and information about the election in general.

“I haven’t noticed any of these major candidates reach out to my community and definitely not toward anyone in my age range,” said Pasadena City College student Mia Jakubczyk.

Although Jakubczyk did cast her vote this morning, she doesn’t think her peers shared her opinion of the election’s significance.

“I think that our local elections may be more important for the decisions and issues at hand and are closer to home and affect our daily life way more [than the presidential and gubernatorial elections],” she said. “I honestly don’t feel that many young people share the same view. I think they may feel that way when issues are popularized, such as medical marijuana being legalized.”

Polls show voter apathy is a larger problem that is not restricted to young voters--nor is it unique to this election.

According to the L.A. Daily News, “Angelenos tend to shrug off elections. In the last truly competitive mayor’s race--in 2005, when Villaraigosa challenged incumbent James Hahn-–about 28 percent of registered voters cast ballots.”

A March USC-Price/LA Times poll shows 14 percent of voters haven't made up their minds, CBS reported

University of Southern California freshman Alegra Hueso, who attended high school in Pasadena and whose father is on the ballet for the Pasadena Unified School Board, stands out among her peers. She voted in Pasadena's elections.

For her, it was about ensuring that the school district where she was educated would continue to be successful.

“I voted for obvious reasons–-my father being one of the candidates-–but also because I feel that I should give back to the school district that gave me so much and prepared me for my future in higher education,” Hueso said. “Eventually those schools will produce quality individuals to contribute to our society.”

Many students don’t vote because they aren’t originally from the L.A. area and don’t feel connected to the local community.

“As a college student, USC is my predominant community versus the broader L.A,” said sophomore Camille de la Vega. “I also don’t get as much exposure to L.A. as a student because of transportation and finances. I don’t feel as invested in the Los Angeles community.”

De la Vega registered to vote in L.A. for the recent presidential election, but didn’t feel like there was nearly as much exposure for the mayoral race and other city elections. She said she mostly heard about the election through her peers. 

USC freshman Jessica Cohen didn’t feel like she had been exposed to the candidates or the issues at hand either.

“Terry Hara had a really active campaign on campus but I don’t even know if he is really a threat to other candidates of the race to be honest,” the Nashville, Tenn. native said. “I couldn’t name anyone else running. All I know is that Hara is running on a platform of safety.”

Cohen decided not to cast a vote today and isn't registered to vote in L.A.

“Voting on issues which I don’t understand or have any knowledge of is honestly worse than not voting to me,” she said. 

 

 

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage on the LA election here.

 

Reach reporter Hayley Burgess here



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness