The polls for the Government of the Student Body elections will close tonight at 8, and some faculty members have noticed the apathy among students and the traditionally low voter turnout.

Last year, about 10 percent of Iowa State students voted in the GSB elections, according to a previous Daily article.

Several faculty members attributed the low voter turnout to students already being content with the way GSB is run.

“Voter apathy stems from the view that the GSB is doing fine and the individual’s vote is not needed,” said Stephen Aigner, associate professor of sociology.

Yong Lee, professor of political science, said this philosophy influences student apathy in any election.

“Really, the general attitude of young adults toward the government and public affairs is that if things are going okay, then there is less participation,” Lee said.

People are more likely to go to the polls if they get excited or upset about issues, Lee said.

“Comfort in society becomes contagious, but times of crisis arouses interest and more people are willing to participate,” he said.

College students’ busy lives also can have an impact on the number of voters and candidates, Aigner said.

“Apathy shows that voting is far down the list of relevant topics in the students’ lives,” he said. “Students and even non-students are busy getting their careers in place or hanging out and don’t see the relevance of their vote.”

Some faculty members said they felt ignorance can lead to apathy.

“The lack of information for making a judgment, the general notion that the GSB doesn’t do enough … and the lack of complete races for the positions are the main factors in voter apathy,” said Jim Hutter, associate professor of political science and adviser to ISU Democrats.

“A lot of the apathy has to do with students not knowing what the GSB does for them,” said Steven Mickelson, associate professor of agriculture and biosystems engineering and adviser to College Republicans.

GSB has no political parties, which can lead to confusion over the candidates’ stances on issues important to the university, Hutter said.

“The primary reason for low turnout is that there are no political parties to shortcut knowing what is being voted for,” he said.

Voter apathy among young people also is a common problem during other types of elections.

“The analysis applies to general voting apathy, not just GSB elections,” Aigner said.

Aigner said maturity into adulthood relieves apathy to an extent.

“When young people get their roots in a community, education for their children, income taxes, sales taxes, war opposition or other issues will lead to less apathy,” he said. “Until then, young adults will sometimes let others hold the burden of carrying democracy.”