Summertime blues
Andrew Grossman
Posted: 03.14.2008 / 5:18 PM EDT
In the post below this one, Michael tries to reassure the Obama campaign about its chances in a possible Michigan re-vote. He points to the strong performance of the uncommitted option, especially in places like Ann Arbor. In precincts near the University of Michigan, 51 percent of students voted uncommitted, 30 percent went for Clinton and 19 percent for Kucinich. That’s huge, especially considering that many students didn’t show up, were confused about the ballot or voted in the Republican primary. (I know a few people who voted for Mitt Romney because they thought he would have posted the smallest threat to the Democrats in November.) Turnout was also low in overwhelmingly black and pro-Obama Detroit.
But Michael misses one important point about the re-do: the date. It falls right in the middle of college summer vacation. Few students will be left in Ann Arbor, making a notoriously hard-to-reach group even harder to reach. A summer primary here for city elections has effectively disenfranchised students in those races. Here’s what that did to one student who came close to winning a seat on the city council in 2005:
“Unfortunately, student candidates in Ann Arbor City Council primaries face one nearly insurmountable challenge: The primaries take place in early August, when most University students are out of town. The second ward, where Kang resides, is home to a large student population in the Hill residence halls - from September to April. The Hill residence halls are abandoned during the spring and summer semesters and, as a result, the voters in Kang’s ward during his primary were almost exclusively local residents. Kang also received no support from the local Democratic Party establishment, which, hoping to secure the formerly Republican-held Council seat, had recruited Rapundalo from the Republican Party and had no interest in a contested primary. Despite his unusual appeal to residents and a well-run campaign, Kang lost the primary by about 10 percent, or 95 votes.”
The Obama campaign should worry about the same thing happening in June, neutralizing its huge advantage among students.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Hello, Andrew,
It’s good to be able to read two different angles on the same story. I guess I would have expected students to vote in their home precincts, not in the college town.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
[…] Of course, the debate may have sparked “little passion” among students because of the proposed timing of the revote. It was to be in June when most of the area?s college students are home for the summer, as noted in the Ann Arbor Patchwork blog of Andrew Grossman. […]