Pictured Above: The St. Petersburg Student Government’s struggles with voter apathy continue, as only 53 students voted in the recent general election.
Sophie Ojdanic | The Crow’s Nest
By Trevor Martindale
The St. Petersburg campus Student Government has struggled with student involvement and voter apathy in recent elections. The spring 2021 general election was no different.
Fifty-three St. Petersburg students voted in the election, a turnout of 1.4 percent. This marks a striking drop in voter turnout compared to the past general elections.
Tampa saw a turnout of 1,236, while Sarasota-Manatee had a turnout of 38.
In 2020, 552 St. Petersburg students voted in the general election – a turnout of 15 percent; 2019 saw 574 students vote in the last pre-consolidated general election – a 12 percent voter turnout.
Robert Herron, St. Petersburg SG adviser and assistant director of Student Life and Engagement, still contends that the pandemic and lower enrollment contributed to low turnout.
SG also continues to face issues with student involvement. The gubernatorial election was uncontested and no one from the St. Petersburg campus ran for system-wide president or vice president.
After two students rescinded their candidacies, five candidates were elected to the system-wide Senate and only one was elected to the St. Petersburg Campus Council.
This leaves three vacancies on the system-wide Senate and eight vacancies on the St. Petersburg Campus Council.
Herron believes that continued confusion around the consolidated SG model could be to blame for low involvement.
“I think there could still be some uncertainty of how things operate in the new consolidated form of SG,” he said in an email to The Crow’s Nest.
Deputy Supervisor of Elections Savannah Carr pointed to confusion around consolidation and the daunting prospect of assuming more online responsibilities during the pandemic.
“Some students I spoke with during this election expressed confusion about the consolidated SG,” Carr said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “On top of that, the majority of students I spoke with brought up concerns about having a job online while balancing online classes.
“Hopefully with classes going back to somewhat normal, that concern will be alleviated.”
According to Herron, the St. Petersburg SG will hold a special election in the summer B session to fill the vacancies.
Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee vote counts are calculated by the collective vote share of each campus’ gubernatorial tickets. The Crow’s Nest is awaiting certified Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee vote totals.
