Update at 8:30 p.m.

As of 8 p.m. 27.2 percent of registered voters have voted in Story County. 140 students have voted at the precinct in Maple Hall, and 181 votes were cast at the Union Drive Community Center. 

Elliot White, senior in animal ecology said voting was part of his civic duty, but many don’t follow his lead. 

“All too often you hear people complaining about ‘oh, I don’t like this, I don’t like that,’ but when you actually have a chance to do it, some people just flake out and don’t do it. This is my way of trying to fix things that I see wrong. By voting.”

Even poll watchers said they haven’t seen many students voting, which they said was disappointing.

“They are the ones who are going to be most directly impacted by some of the policies we are going to see enacted here in the coming years,” said Nate Borland, poll watcher at the Memorial Lutheran Church, of students. “If you want to grab hold of your life and grab hold of your surroundings, you have to do something about it. This is something that is easy to do and unfortunately, very few people actually do.”’

For students that do vote, Precinct Chairman Joan Traylor, at Maple Hall, said he thinks the reasons students vote vary. 

“Some [students] have spent considerable time studying who is on the ballot and what they stand for. Others are doing it much more superficially, but I think that’s just true of the general public. It’s an opportunity we are providing and we are available to answer questions,” Traylor said.

Update at 4 p.m.

Student voter turn-out has not been as high as expected.

By 3 p.m., 57 voters have voted at Maple Hall and 98 have voted at the UDCC. There have been 171 votes cast at the Memorial Lutheran Church. Throughout Story County, 9,982 votes have been cast. 

“If you want to grab hold of your life and grab hold of your surroundings, you have to do something about it. This is something that is easy to do and unfortunately, very few people actually do,” said Nate Borland, poll watcher at the Memorial Lutheran Church. 

Some students and Ames residents said they ultimately decided not to vote because of negative ad campaigns that left them confused and frustrated. 

“(The gubernatorial race) wasn’t overly negative. To be honest, I didn’t pay too much attention to their ads. The airwaves were just dominated by the Ernst and Braley ads. Quite frankly, I got so sick of it, I voted for neither of them. I actually voted for Stewart,” said Jim Elliott, Ames resident. 

Student Connor Harris, senior in industrial engineering, said her family always stays informed and updated on politics. She has been active in politics since she was 8 years old, and she, too, said she felt the advertisements this year were overly negative. 

“The negative ad campaigns did affect how I wanted to vote simply because I didn’t want that person who was slandering low blows, which weren’t very articulate, in a position of power,” she said. 

Harris voted straight-line democrat because she believes that party “favors women equality,” she said.

Harris also said students should stay up to date on issues discussed in campaigns so they can make an informed vote. 

“It is kind of a huge point in a cultural aspect because you are getting rights for different individuals,” she said. “Women are starting to get equal pay. The LGBT community are starting to get equality. Culturally, you want to be involved.”

Bruce Braley, Tom Harkin and Brad Anderson, Secretary of State candidate, came to Central Campus to push students to vote one last time. Both Braley and Harkin spoke on the importance of having affordable education. 

12:30 p.m.

Student voter turn-out the morning of Election Day was slim, but more students are heading to the polls as the day progresses. 

By 11 a.m. 6,071 votes had been cast in Story County, a little more than nine percent of the population. 

By 11:15 a.m. Joyce Carney, precinct chairwoman at the Union Drive Community Center, said there were about 41 students who had voted. 

“Some of them — like city elections — students hardly vote because it doesn’t affect them,” Carney said. 

However, Carney said she expects a lot of students to turn out to vote later in the day. 

Carney said about one-third of students are taking advantage of same-day registration, but they do not know the requirements of registering to vote. Students must have proof of address and a picture ID to vote. 

Joelle Gluesing, graduate student in education, said she feels it is important for all students to get out and vote today. 

“I think voting for people within our state has more impact on our daily lives than it does voting for the President,” Gluesing said. “It’s especially important for students because many of us are graduating with such high student loan debts and a lot our state officials have a very big say in what’s going to happen. I think all students need to very aware of this.”

Aspen Pflanz, freshman in history, said she wasn’t from Iowa but is beginning to realize the importance of voting for the elected officials in the state. 

“Now that I’m a resident of Iowa, I think it’s definitely important to vote for the government that’s in Iowa and not just the nation. The decisions that the Iowa government makes are going to affect me,” Pflanz said.

As for students who do not vote, Pflanz said it’s irresponsible. 

“It’s really silly of them, it’s a civic duty they have and no matter who wins, they are going to complain, so you might as well let your voice be heard.”