ISU students are voicing their opinions through voting at primaries.

It seems not much attention is paid to the primaries by most students, compared to the presidential elections that take place every four years. Still some students at Iowa State are choosing to vote in this year’s primary.

Jeremy Freeman, freshman in animal ecology and member of the ISU Republican Club, has already voted. For Freeman, every year is important to go out and vote, and he wishes more students would vote in the primaries.

“It’s sad that a lot of people our age don’t vote. They should start at an early age to have a voice in what is going on, not just when they are 30 or 40,” Freeman said.

Freeman believes it is important to vote in the primaries because the candidate that wins will be the one that runs in the actual election. So it is crucial to pick the candidates that represent the issues that mean the most to you.

The issues Freeman thought were the most important are the economy, at both the state and national level, and national security.

Adam Kenworthy, senior in English and member of the ISU Democrats, also feels like the economy is a big issue, as well as education. For Kenworthy, these issues are central to college students, with state budget affecting the budgets of college universities.

Kenworthy said there is no set reason why students don’t vote in the primaries, but a lot of different factors. 

“There is a certain amount of apathy, where they feel there is no point in voting or they feel like their one vote doesn’t count. Or they just don’t understand how the process works,” Kenworthy said.

Whatever the reason, Kenworthy thinks voting is still a civic duty everyone should partake in.

“It’s just as important to vote in the primaries as it is to vote in November,” Kenworthy said.