Although voters still have a year to choose a presidential candidate, they have to choose the next Ames City Council members soon.

The immediate thought of some students after reading that sentence may be “who cares?” – and the voting numbers show it.

“The 18-to-24 age group numbers are lower than other age groups, and significantly lower in local elections,” said Story County Auditor Mary Mosiman.

In fact, many students aren’t even aware of what a city council does.

“I guessed that we have a city council,” said Kim Grauf, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production.

“All I know is that there’s one in each town, and they vote on stuff.”

Despite the lack of student interest in local government, one of the positions open in November’s election covers the Union Drive neighborhood and Richardson Court Association.

Because of this, now is the opportune time for students who want a student-friendly representative in office to pay attention.

Opinions as to why many students are apathetic about local government differ.

“It’s the same kind of thing as people thinking the federal government doesn’t do anything for them,” said Maggie Luttrell, ex-officio City Council liaison and junior in history.

“Most students only see the campus, not the whole city of Ames. They have their own lives, and a lot of them don’t think about politics.”

Mosiman said it’s because of a lack of information.

“A lot of students aren’t from the area, and they don’t know the ease of voting here,” she said.

For instance, students registered to vote in their hometown can vote via absentee ballot or switch their registration to their Ames address.

“It’s really very easy. With absentee ballots, there’s an official form on the Web site you download, fill out and mail back,” Mosiman said.

“You will receive your ballot within 24 hours, and the postage for return is already paid. Just fill it out and send or fax it back.”

Luttrell said the student community doesn’t realize what the council does for it.

“There’s a lot of support between the [Government of the Student Body] and City Council to reach students,” she said.

“For example, the Safety Walk a few days ago – that was an initiative to help students. People walking around Welch Avenue didn’t realize that we took the initiative to keep them safe.”

Despite these concerted efforts, the general consensus is that students may be too preoccupied with schoolwork or personal lives, or are generally too indifferent to vote.

“It probably wouldn’t hurt to know more about what the council does,” Grauf said.

“But I’m in college – I have other things to focus on that directly affect me more than the council.”

Voter apathy is not constrained to ISU students, however.

“I think the majority of people nationwide are pretty apathetic in politics – they mostly see the government as corrupt or useless, and don’t see what city councils can do for them or for the state or national government,” Luttrell said.

How to get registered

Voter registration forms and absentee ballots are available at www.storycounty.com.

Registration forms must mailed or faxed by 5 p.m. Friday. If faxed, the original form must be mailed and received by Nov. 6.

Absentee ballots must be requested by Nov. 2. They must be postmarked by Nov. 5 to be counted.

Mail forms to: Story County Auditor, 900 6th St., Nevada, IA 50201.

Fax forms to: 382-7221.