As election day grows closer, the enthusiasm grows, particularly among students currently involved in campus political organizations. Jonquil Wegmann, a representative of Citizens for Nader, said their group has seen its own student membership and participation increase by nearly 300 percent in the past two months. Chad Schmitz, president of the ISU College Republicans, also noticed a definite increase in participation. Surprised with the number of people involved in this year's election, he attributes it to a growing enthusiasm with the Republican party. However the reality of the actual number of students on campus compared to the number who are actively involved is quite low.
Voter apathy is a large factor of low voter turnout in the college community.
Organizations like MTV's Choose or Lose campaign are dedicated to traveling across the country to college campuses registering voters. Choose or Lose also tries to relieve the tensions of voting and remove the feelings of apathy in younger voters. The last presidential election appeared to mark the beginning of a resurgence in youth participation in the political process. In 1992, nearly half the voters under the age of 30 cast ballots, the highest level in 20 years. But 1994 was far less encouraging, according to a MTV press release, the youth turnout fell to a dismal 12 percent.