As the Nov. 8 municipal elections near, many students say they are not anticipating going to the polls, much like in previous non-presidential election years.

Students who wish to vote in municipal elections must have been previously registered, but some who have done so still do not plan on voting.

Raquel Schwartz (junior-human development and family studies) said she registered in State College last year because she felt her vote counted more in Pennsylvania than it did in her hometown in Maryland.

But this year she said she does not plan to vote because she doesn't know any of the issues, despite the efforts of various State College Borough Council members and on-campus student groups to get students to vote.

State College Borough Council member Elizabeth Goreham and Mayor Bill Welch both said they have done things to encourage student voting -- such as speaking to on-campus groups about the importance of the student vote -- but Schwartz said she has barely heard anything about registering and voting.

"Not for these elections," Schwartz said. "Last year for the presidential elections they did a lot more."

Penn State College Democrats President Alex Smith said there is always lower student turnout in a non-presidential election.

"There isn't a lot of media, and there is not as much money in these smaller elections," Smith said.

John Buckley (freshman-political science) said he wanted to register to vote in State College, but he did not find out about the registration deadline until after it had passed.

"I live here, and it is important to me to be aware of the issues," Buckley said.

Smith said the College Democrats will set up tables in the HUB-Robeson Center the week before the election to encourage students to vote. He said he is also planning on holding a "meet the candidates event" Wednesday to get information out about the candidates and stress how important each one of these local races is.

"These elections really affect what type of community these students live in," Smith said.

Undergraduate Student Government Senate President Andy Banducci said that to the best of his knowledge there was nothing organized by the Senate to encourage student voter turnout.

Penn State College Republicans Chairwoman Vicky Cangelosi also said the group has not planned anything to encourage students to vote.

"Honestly, I think that students' voter turnout is going to be disappointing this year," Cangelosi said. "I tried to talk about the elections with people, and they don't know who's running and a lot of people aren't interested in local elections."

Cangelosi said many students she talked to are registered to vote at home because they feel their vote is more effective there.

Banducci said he believed student voter turnout is low during a non-presidential election year because overall voter turnout is generally lower.

Cangelosi said lack of media coverage during a non-presidential election contributes to voter turnout.

Buckley said he thought students' lack of awareness along with apathy and full schedules were factors in low student voter turnout.

Buckley added that even though he missed the deadline to vote in State College, he would still vote through absentee ballot in his hometown.