OPINION: Students Don’t Get a Say in Ohio Primaries e! I have a vo ic
Our election too!
Stu dents matter! By Bryce Hoehn Opinion Writer
I
n this year’s primary election there was only one item on the ballot: the Democratic Primary for Athens City Council between incumbent Councilmember Chris Fahl and challenger Alan Swank. Of the 721 registered voters in Ward 4, only 282 votes were cast. Swank won by an overwhelming majority of 184 votes. Meanwhile, Fahl seemingly did not know it was Election Day. When Athens NEWS journalist Ben Peters asked for her contact information to comment on the results, she responded saying “[Is] there a primary?” For many students, the first week of May is arguably the busiest week of their entire year, if not their entire lives. With finals week in the last week of April and graduation approaching, it is no wonder election turn-
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out is so low. Under the current primary election system, it is extremely difficult for students to find time to both research candidates and turn out to vote. Being that Athens is a one party city, most Ohio University students miss the chance to vote on a range of candidates. Since the primary elections fall so close to the end of the year, voting has become largely inaccessible to those preoccupied with finals and end of year activities. While smaller local elections may not seem as important, they play a crucial role in determining who runs the city government in one party cities such as Athens. This trend can push out progressive candidates who may be more in touch with younger people in favor of those who can appeal toward older demographics, creating a practical gerontocracy in the city. This trend was most
apparent in the 2019 mayoral race where self-described Democratic Socialist Damon Krane challenged incumbent Mayor Steve Patterson. Krane’s campaign focused heavily on issues that affect students and those in poverty such as affordable housing. However, due to student inaccessibility in the primary, he was forced to run as an independent in the general instead, where he only received 25% of the vote. Had Krane been able to run in a competitive primary election, who knows how the race could have gone. I suspect there are many voters who voted for Patterson in the general due to the (D) next to his name on the ballot who may have otherwise voted for Krane had he ran as a Democrat. It is unclear whether this would have caused a significant enough of a difference to change the
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