The city of Biddeford is a lot of things; among them it is a college town that is home to the University of New England, a liberal arts college nestled along the banks of the Saco River.
In numerous conversations this evening with city election clerks and poll workers, I heard repeated stories about record voter turnout and incredible same-day voter registration statistics among UNE students.
It’s nice to see our nation’s young people get involved in politics, I only wish they actually cared a bit more about the community that serves as their temporary home.
Why do I say this? Why am I so callous?
Well, maybe it’s because I think college students, especially, ought to be a bit more “educated” on issues of national, state and local importance. Our nation’s college students represent our future. They are the up and coming leaders of tomorrow, but apparently can’t be bothered to invest a small measure of time in their host community.
How do I know this? Just look at the 2012 Election Results.
Even with a perfunctory review of the numbers, it becomes quickly apparent that the students cared about only two issues: the presidential election and a statewide referendum question regarding marriage equality.
UNE is located in Biddeford’s Ward One, the predominantly coastal and more affluent section of the city.
In Ward One, 1,445 voters cast ballots regarding Marriage Equality, not including 59 blank ballots.
In Ward One, 1,496 voters cast ballots to choose the next president, not including 8 blanks.
But what happened when these voters were asked about who should be their state representative in the Maine Legislature?
Hmmm…. there were 97 blank ballots
How about the Maine Senate? 173 blanks
How about Local Bond Questions regarding road pavements? 228 blanks
How about the local school budget? 138 blanks.
Ok, so maybe most voters don’t drill down that far…but let’s compare the number of blanks on those election issues against some other neighborhoods in the same city, like my neighborhood…
State Senate: 72 blanks (a difference of 99 fewer blank votes compared to Ward One)
Paving Bond: 143 blanks (a difference of 85 fewer blank votes)
Local School Budget: 69 blanks (a difference of 99 fewer blank votes)
Across the board, Ward One had a higher number of blank ballots than any of the city’s other six voting wards (both in actual numbers and as a percent of totals)
For better or worse, Biddeford Mayor Alan Casavant is also serving as a representative in the Maine House of Representatives. He is a Democrat. He lost by a margin of just 8 votes to his Republican challenger. Wow…what if just a few more students had cast a vote in that race???
Many of the students, including a young woman from the neighboring town of Kennebunk, used only their UNE student ID as a means of proving residency in Biddeford. But they did have to swear an oath to certify that they had not voted anywhere else.
Out of curiosity, how is it that college students who can wait in line 36 hours for the latest I-Phone or score coveted Dave Matthews concert tickets months before a scheduled concert not be able to register for voting until the actual day of the election?
Nah, it couldn’t be they want to wait until the last possible minute in order to avoid scrutiny. They really do care what’s happening in the world. They just forgot that Election Day was creeping up on them.
Maybe we should require you to register to vote when you buy an I-Phone or some concert tickets. Wouldn’t that be convenient? Then they would not have to rent so many passenger vans to vote. Then they would not have to put such a strain on our strapped city resources. Then, maybe these educated kids might be able to fill out the entire ballot.
You may call me a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 