Brian Ebers and Kirk Mottram

Participation in the Illinois primary elections is ebbing among University undergraduates and student turnout at the polls should be dismal at today’s primaries, says a certified registrar who brought registration forms to dorms.

Jackson county registrar Jim Pawlak, Undergraduate Student Government Student Affairs co-commissioner, and five others registered 180 students last month to vote in the primaries today. The deadline for registration was Feb. 15 and of the 180 registered, Pawlak thinks about 25 percent will show up at the polls.

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Pawlak and other registrars contacted several hundred dorm residents who declined to be subject to the minute-long registration process. Citing reasons which ranged from, already registered, to not interested, students remained distant regarding the primary elections.

Pawlak said the registration process is straight forward.

“It’s not a complicated process,” he said. “People don’t understand how easy it is. It’s four lines for your name, address, signature and brief voting history.

Registration can be accomplished at a number of locations including the Jackson County Courthouse and Carbondale Civic Center.

Irene Carlton, Jackson County Clerk, said sometimes students register to vote and then subsequently move. To be able to vote in state elections after the move, voters must register under their new addresses. However, Carlton reminds students who have failed to change addresses that they may still vote in federal elections.

Among the posts up for grabs this year are all of the state offices including governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state. Also contested are the 12th District congressional seat and the U.S. Senate seat occupied by U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill.

Ron Bohm, a junior in administration of justice from Oaklawn, did not register because he was unclear about where to go, and blamed lackluster interest about primaries on undergraduates’ laziness.

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“It’s a lack of concern and a lack of knowledge about where to go to register,” Bohm said.

Expressing a distaste toward state and federal elections, Abby Paterson decided not to participate in the primaries this year.

Paterson, an undecided freshman from Waterloo, voted in her home-town elections this year, but opted not to vote in the primaries.

She said the elections have not been discussed much among her peers. Paterson has not been interested in politics lately and sees voting as, “one more thing to add to your list of things to do.”

“Unless things affected them personally, the people I know here didn’t concern themselves with the elections,” Paterson said.

Although turnout might be slight among University students, some did register and plan to participate.

Terry Kuhn, an undecided sophomore from Chicago, registered to vote shortly before the Feb. 15 deadline. Kuhn said he is obligated to vote because he likes to complain about elected officials’ conduct.

“How could I criticize the governor or our state senators if I didn’t even attempt to influence the outcome of the races,” Kuhn said.

Pawlak said student interest regarding voting relates to the significance of the elections. Generally, he said, larger elections such as presidential elections gather larger numbers of voters, where primary elections are not seen as major events.

As a certified registrar, Pawlak has seen enthusiasm wane among students as well as in his own registrar course. The course is offered through the county clerk who, on her own time, provides materials to interested persons who want to help get others registered to vote.

The course lasts about 30 minutes, and the county clerk provides the necessary information to obtain certification. Once certified in a specific county, a registrar can register legal voters in that county for a period of two years. When Pawlak attended the course to become certified in Jackson County, 20 others were slated to attend.

Only two people of the 20 registered to take the course offered by the county clerk showed up.

Despite the dismal student turnout projected, John Jackson, provost and political analyst, predicts increased turnout statewide, especially in Southern Illinois. Jackson argues turnout percentages will rise moderately from 1994 when the state last elected a governor. But, he said, the dreary weather rolling in could have a negative impact on overall turnout if it persists.

It’s tough to predict, Jackson said. The weather will hold turnout down to an extent, but the total numbers will probably exceed 1994.