Texas Tech Students, Local Politicians Discuss Significance of Voting
Written by Ashley Simpson
Texas Tech students and local candidates running in the upcoming election are talking about how much a student's vote truly matters when it comes to electing local officials.
Tech has a population of approximately 25,000 potential voters, said Charles Dunn, a local candidate running for Lubbock County Democratic Party Chair.
“Tech students have tremendous voting power that has never been tapped by either political party,” he said.
Dunn said students pay sales tax on their purchases, property tax through the rental contracts on their housing, and tax on utilities they receive, yet most do not vote in Lubbock and are not registered to vote in Lubbock County.
As a result, he added, they have no voice as to who represents them.
If the Tech population was added to the number of registered voters who actually vote in Lubbock County, they would control any election because of their numbers, he said.
Some students are not interested in local politics.
Michael Leighton, a senior political science major, said voting for local officials is not important during this particular time of his life. Leighton said he is not concerned about tax rates, for instance, because he does not currently have a job.
Leighton said he may care more about electing local officials in the future when he is directly affected by the local government.
Pamela Brink, a local candidate running for Lubbock County Democratic Party Chair, said voting is crucial to maintaining a democracy.
“You can help shape the place where you live,” said Brink. “Voting is the most basic patriotic act.”
Brink said students should invest in Lubbock’s political infrastructure by voting for local officials. As a result, students will become more a part of the community, she added.
Taylor Anderson, a senior political science major, said he agrees with Leighton about the importance of students voting for local officials. Anderson said by the time changes start happening, he would no longer reside in Lubbock.
Aubrey Johnson, a freshman pre-nursing major, said voting for local officials is very important to her.
"I think that students are going to be the next generation and should have an
opinion on who’s leading,” she said.
Jerry Koch, a sociology professor at Tech, said students’ voting for local politicians is important because they run the basic infrastructure of the county.
“They live in the environment that is being run by local officials,” he said.