The Associated Student Government proposed legislation around a year ago to increase voter turnout among students in the McCormick School of Engineering, which has had historically low voter turnout. The legislation has yet to be implemented, though it may take effect in the upcoming presidential election.

The legislation states an ASG representative will sit in the Technological Institute lobby and encourage students to vote. McCormick senior Ryan Beam, who created the legislation, said that although two rounds of elections have occurred since its passage, it has yet to be implemented due to a lack of candidates for McCormick Senate positions and a shortage of current ASG members available to staff the tables.

“(The legislation) hasn’t really done much yet because of circumstances,” Beam said. “It could starting this presidential election, and hopefully I can find someone to continue it once I’ve graduated. Hopefully we can get some people in Tech who will get people to vote.”

In the 2024 ASG election, only 101 votes were cast by McCormick students, less than 5% of the total school population.

Communication senior Ryan Lien, who co-sponsored the bill, said he has seen a similar pattern of low turnout in the School of Communication.

“I could see something like this expanding to other schools,” Lien said. “Or ASG just having more tabling for voting in lobbies of various buildings. There’s definitely multiple schools that need it.” 

Beam also said low voter turnout could be due to a lack of candidates. After the last Senate election, only three of the four McCormick Senate seats were filled. If elections are not competitive, Beam said people might not think voting is important.

McCormick freshman Esha Chandra filled a vacant McCormick seat in a special election last October. She said low voter turnout and low ASG participation from McCormick students could be due to their focus on extracurriculars related to STEM rather than student government.

“(ASG is) people who are interested in maybe going to law or pre-law, people who have an interest in social advocacy, and for whatever reason, those types of people just aren’t McCormick students,” Beam said.

Although McCormick students may not value ASG as much as students in other schools might, Beam said it’s still important to vote and to have someone who can represent students’ voices, especially with Northwestern’s involvement in national politics.

Lien said if students don’t vote, they could experience a diminished student life experience and student voice. He said ASG allocates thousands of dollars to clubs throughout the year and voting gives students more say in where that money goes.

“When a school lacks a senator or multiple senators, those students’ voices are less impactful in funding processes, meaning that money isn’t allocated as efficiently or effectively as it possibly could be,” Lien said.

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