Large, patriotic signs that read “VOTE” hung throughout the Union Drive Community Center, guiding potential voters to the polling place for the City Council elections. The signs, however, went largely unseen.

Such ignorance to the signs was reflected in the mere double-digit turnout at the voting polls at the UDCC on Tuesday.

The low turnout could be due in part to the location, said Joyce Carney, precinct co-chairwoman.

“Students that live in this precinct are just people in dorms,” she said.

Election sites held at the UDCC have been similarly as underrepresented in the past, she said. Only one person voted in the school board elections held this September at the particular site.

Yet many students think that they are not “just people in dorms,” and they should vote—they just don’t.

Students site a variety of reasons for not voting. Some said that voting is a cumbersome duty in the midst of their busy lives.

“Students should definitely vote if they have time.” said Seth Inyang, senior in mechanical engineering.

Other students agreed.

“I would say that it’s important to vote,” Cale Nelson, freshman in political science said, “but it’s inconvenient. “

Several students said that it is also an inconvenient process to register to vote.

Sean Morrissy, freshman in materials engineering, said that perhaps more registration opportunities for students would encourage more student-voter participation in the future.

Yet another large portion of students simply didn’t know about the election.

Denae Stuckey, sophomore in child, adult, and family resources, said she didn’t know about the election, yet had she known, she would have voted.

Stuckey’s opinion was also carried by other students.

“I vaguely knew about the election,” said Molly Parrott, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies said. She said she was unsure, however, whether students who were not originally residents of Ames could vote in the election.

According to the Iowa Secretary of State website, college students, both in-state and out of state, can, in fact, vote in college town, but are limited to vote in either that or their hometown, not both.

Although she is able to vote in Ames, Mindy Peck, freshman in interdisciplinary studies, said that because she is not originally a resident of Ames, she will not vote.

“I don’t know city councilmen in Ames,” she said. “If I knew more about [the election issues] things may be different.”

Some who saw the importance of voting actually had intentions of getting out there and voting.

Josh Gilmore, senior in philosophy, said had had plans of voting.

“[Students] form a substantial part of the Ames population,” Gilmore said, “[Voting in the city council elections is,] at the very least, logical that we engage in the voting process.”

Of students who chose not to participate in the elections, Gimore said he was baffled.

“Vote,” he said. “There’s nothing ambiguous about it. If [students] are tired of bad decisions they should vote. It’s appalling,” he said, “absolutely ghastly.”

One student, who wished to remain anonymous for personal reasons, said that she voted because she thought many issues that city councilmen vote on are relevant to students.

“The city council affects us all: they implement policy, make laws in Ames,” she said. “If students want their voices represented, they should vote.”