[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Featured Image caption” _builder_version=”4.2″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px”]<\/p>\n
The South Carolina Democratic Party advertises upcoming South Carolina primary in front of their Columbia headquarters.<\/p>\n
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By LEXI TORRENCE and DENALI CULVER<\/strong><\/p>\n Over one million more S.C. voters are registered today than 20 years ago, but still, only a fraction of young adults go to the polls.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2000, just over 2 million voters were registered to vote in the South Carolina primaries. January 30 was the last day to register for the 2020 Democratic primary, with a record of 3.3 million voters registered.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the rise in voter registration and turnout, young adults are still less likely to vote than older generations.\u00a0 According to the United States Elections Project, just over 30 percent of 18-to-29 year olds voted in the 2018 midterms, while the over-60 demographic cast almost twice as many votes.<\/span><\/p>\n On Feb. 29, South Carolina voters participate in the Democratic primary to choose who should run against President Donald Trump in the general election.<\/span><\/p>\n Chase Meyer, a University of South Carolina political science professor, said South Carolina\u2019s primary is unique because its demographics differ largely from the states that come before.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the first way for the South to have a say on a candidate, as well as for black voters,\u201d said Meyer, a visiting assistant professor who studies U.S. elections and political parties.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite a campaign by UofSC\u2019s student government to promote voter registration, many students still feel uneducated about or uninterested in the voting process.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don’t like dealing with politics. I think it\u2019s too toxic and I have other stuff I\u2019m worried about,\u201d said Conner Graves, a third-year criminal justice major.<\/span><\/p>\n Graves explained that he thinks voting is important, but would rather not vote if he isn\u2019t sure about a candidate. He didn\u2019t know that the deadline for registering for the primary had passed.<\/span><\/p>\n Haleema Adly, a first-year nursing student, also didn\u2019t register in time for the primary, but hopes to be ready in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to have a say in your government and what\u2019s going on, you should go vote. But you should be well-educated to a certain point and personally I\u2019m not there yet,\u201d Adly said. \u201cI’m still taking things in, still considering if I should or should not register, especially as there are decades of stuff that I still don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Adly has seen multiple presidential candidates speak at the university and is currently favoring former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg. In addition to Buttigieg, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris, businessman Andrew Yang and others have visited UofSC\u2019s campus or nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re the future,\u201d said Logan Ingram, a third-year advertising major. \u201cWe have an influence on this country. I think it\u2019s important that we give our influence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Meyer explained that the national campaigns, not the local parties, are responsible for educating local voters on when and how to vote.<\/span><\/p>\n South Carolina Democratic party spokesperson Greer Schneider said all presidential campaigns are running their own primary operations. \u201cThe state party rather puts on just \u2018get out the vote\u2019 efforts for primary day because we are neutral on every presidential candidate up until the time of the primary and after our national convention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Campaigns started to be active in 2018, said Schneider, and many candidates come to South Carolina for events like the state convention and 6th District Rep. Jim Clyburn\u2019s annual fish fry. The South Carolina Democratic party promotes these events and others across their website, social media and email lists, but it’s still the candidates\u2019 jobs to campaign for votes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf candidates had taken South Carolina more seriously, then they would have picked up the slack and have gotten people registered, gotten people informed and aware,\u201d Meyer said.<\/span><\/p>\n According to data from Real Clear Politics, Biden is polling at 31 percent in South Carolina, with the next closest candidate being Tom Steyer at 18.5 percent. Meyer believes many candidates view the South Carolina primary as a guaranteed Biden win, so they focused their efforts on other primaries.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTrust me, if you were a student in New Hampshire, you were guaranteed to be told when the registration deadline was,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cNot the local party would have done it, but every single campaign would have made sure that public knowledge.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PrimaryP2_DC.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 1″ _builder_version=”4.2″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” always_center_on_mobile=”on”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”4.2″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Visiting UofSC Political Science Professor Chase Meyer weighs in on the importance of the South Carolina primary.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PrimaryP3_DC.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 2″ _builder_version=”4.2″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”4.2″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Many political campaigns are seeking additional help by posting advertisements on the university campus.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PrimaryP4_DCqutoe.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 3″ _builder_version=”4.2″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”4.2″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Haleema Adly, an 18-year-old UofSC student, wants to be well-informed before she casts her ballot.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PrimaryP5_DC.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 4″ _builder_version=”4.2″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”4.2″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Greer Schnider, spokesperson for South Carolina Democratic Party, says the party is attempting to increase young voter participation in the South Carolina primary.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”4.2″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PrimaryG1_DC.jpg” _builder_version=”4.2″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More voters than ever before are registered to vote, but only a fraction of young voters are going to the polls. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":30518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Over one million more S.C. voters are registered today than 20 years ago, but still, only a fraction of young adults go to the polls.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> In 2000, just over 2 million voters were registered to vote in the South Carolina primaries. January 30 was the last day to register for the 2020 Democratic primary, with a record of 3.3 million voters registered.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Despite the rise in voter registration and turnout, young adults are still less likely to vote than older generations.\u00a0 According to the United States Elections Project, just over 30 percent of 18-to 29-year-olds voted in the 2018 midterms, while the over-60 demographic cast almost twice as many votes.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> On February 29, South Carolina voters participate in the Democratic primary to choose who should run against President Donald Trump in the general election.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Professor Chase Meyer explained South Carolina\u2019s primary is unique because its demographics differ largely from the states that come before.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u201cIt\u2019s the first way for the South to have a say on a candidate, as well as for black voters,\u201d Meyer said. He currently serves as a visiting assistant professor in the political science department at U of SC. He studies U.S. elections and political parties.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Despite a campaign by U of SC\u2019s student government to promote voter registration, many students still feel uneducated about or uninterested in the voting process.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u201cI don't like dealing with politics. I think it\u2019s too toxic and I have other stuff I\u2019m worried about,\u201d said Conner Graves, a third-year criminal justice major.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Graves explained that he thinks voting is important, but would rather not vote if he isn\u2019t sure about a candidate. Also, he didn\u2019t know that the deadline for registering for the primary had passed.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Haleema Adly, a first-year nursing student, didn\u2019t register in time for the primary, but hopes to be ready in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u201cIf you want to have a say in your government and what\u2019s going on, you should go vote. But you should be well-educated to a certain point and personally I\u2019m not there yet,\u201d Adly said. \u201cI'm still taking things in, still considering if I should or should not register, especially as there are decades of stuff that I still don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Adly has seen multiple candidates speak at the university and is currently favoring Buttigieg. In addition to Buttigieg, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang and others have visited U of SC\u2019s campus or nearby.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u201cWe\u2019re the future,\u201d said Logan Ingram, a third-year advertising major. \u201cWe have an influence on this country. I think it\u2019s important that we give our influence.\u201d<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Meyer explained that the national campaigns, not the local parties, are responsible for educating local voters on when and how to vote.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Public relations officer for the South Carolina Democratic party Greer Schneider said, \u201cEssentially all the presidential campaigns here are running their own primary operations themselves. The state party rather puts on just \u2018get out the vote\u2019 efforts for primary day because we are neutral on every presidential candidate up until the time of the primary and after our national convention.\u201d<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Campaigns started to be active in 2018, said Schneider, and many candidates come to South Carolina for events like the state convention and Congressman Jim Clyburn\u2019s annual fish fry. The South Carolina Democratic party promotes these events and others across their website, social media and email lists, but it's still the candidates\u2019 jobs to campaign for votes.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u201cIf candidates had taken South Carolina more seriously, then they would have picked up the slack and have gotten people registered, gotten people informed and aware,\u201d Meyer said.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> According to data from Real Clear Politics, Biden is polling at 31 percent in South Carolina, with the next closest candidate being Tom Steyer at 18.5 percent. Meyer believes many candidates view the South Carolina primary as a guaranteed Biden win, so they focused their efforts on other primaries.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u201cTrust me, if you were a student in New Hampshire, you were guaranteed to be told when the registration deadline was,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cNot the local party would have done it, but every single campaign would have made sure that public knowledge.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The South Carolina primary takes place on February 29, and the registration deadline for the general election is October 4.<\/span><\/p>
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