Low voter turnout has plagued past Government of the Student Body elections, but efforts this year to modify student perception of the organization may change that.

Steve Skutnik, graduate student in physics and astronomy, was the GSB election commissioner last year.

“The problem is making GSB relevant to students,” he said. “They see it as an extension of [their] high school student council.”

Many students do not realize a single vote can make a difference, Skutnik said.

Increasing voter turnout is the responsibility of both GSB officials and GSB slate campaigns, Skutnik said. Candidates need to appeal to students and tell them whoever is elected will make a difference in their lives. GSB officials need to demonstrate they are an organization that can make an impact on students’ lives.

T.J. Schneider, president of GSB, said officials need to remind the students what GSB is and what they do for students.

It would help change students’ perceptions, Skutnik said, if GSB lobbied for issues that students believe affect them.

“Occasionally, there have been some vain lobbying efforts about tuition money,” Skutnik said. “[GSB] does very little about lobbying about things like the housing ordinance [that] students perceive as their interests.”

There are plenty of local issues to focus on, Skutnik said. The smoking ordinance, over-occupancy zoning and the drink special ban are all issues GSB could have lobbied the Ames City Council on behalf of ISU students, he said.

Christian Dahlager, senior in journalism and mass communication, serves on the election commission. He said the new nonvoting student seat on the Ames City Council will probably benefit the students by giving them a voice in these issues.

Another problem that may be causing low voter turnout is students not knowing much about the election process, Schneider said.

Two years ago, voter turnout was at an all-time high of 25 percent, Skutnik said.

There used to be more hotly contested issues that would result in higher voter turnout, Schneider said.

Skutnik agreed. He said although there are more diverse candidates this year, there is still a lack of important issues debated between slates.

Dahlager said as of 12:30 a.m. Monday, with less than half an hour of voting, the turnout looked promising for this year. He attributed this to the three GSB campaign slates. “I think all the candidates have been stressing students should vote,” Dahlager said.