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Vote Not Rocking On USF Campus

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By LAURA KINSLER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2008

USF CAMPUS - Election fever has swept across college campuses all over the nation. But the University of South Florida seems to be immune to this particular bug.

Voter registration in Precinct 353, which encompasses the campus, has dropped 60 percent since March 2007. About 4,500 students live on campus; fewer than one in 10 is registered to vote at USF. Of those, 77 cast ballots in Tuesday's primary.

Candace Braun conducted an exit poll for the student newspaper, The Oracle. She said the numbers would be too low to publish. "We're concerned," she said. "To be scientific, we need at least 100 votes."

The precinct had more than 1,000 registered voters in last year's Tampa municipal election, but only five cast ballots. Joe Duberry was one of the five. Tuesday's primary was his fourth time voting at the Marshall Center. He also has volunteered on campaigns and follows politics closely. But Duberry said he is part of a small minority.

"The students don't make their home here," he said.
Janielle Whitehead moved away from campus, but she was still registered at USF. "This is the most significant race I've ever been able to participate in," she said. "But I don't think any of my friends voted."

The Florida Division of Elections lists 411 registered voters for the precinct. The dismal turnout on campus is a mystery to political scientist Susan MacManus, who said she could sense the excitement regarding the presidential race.

"Young college students are really, really interested in this race," she said. "We had a straw poll on campus, and we had record numbers. More than 1,800 students voted."

Those students favored the Democrats and supported Barack Obama 2:1 over Hillary Clinton, MacManus said. But Obama kept his pledge not to campaign in Florida, which kept him away from the campus. Even Rudy Giuliani, who campaigned in Florida, didn't visit to the campus.
Poll worker Jack Piche said he turned away dozens of students who assumed they could vote on campus although they were registered elsewhere. First-time voters often don't understand how or where to vote, and they don't know how to vote absentee, he said.

Chris Bright was looking forward to casting his ballot, but he was turned away because he is still registered in Duval County. Though he's a college senior and lives off campus, he tried to vote at the Marshall Center.

Kerolos Fahmi made the same mistake. He registered to vote in high school in Palm Harbor but has no idea where his polling place is, and he didn't know that as a registered independent, he was ineligible to vote in either party's primary.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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