Eliska Martinez serves as the external governmental affairs chair on San Luis Obispo County’s Gay and Lesbian Alliance Pride and Diversity Center board of directors. In her role, she monitors local legislation, such as homelessness response and construction downtown.
Based on Mustang News survey results, she’s among the 31% of student voters planning to cast their ballots in San Luis Obispo’s elections this November. She’s choosing to vote where she lives, even if only for a few years.
Survey Methodology
Mustang News surveyed 2000 randomly selected students. Twenty-three percent of selected students, 464 total, responded.
We asked nonpartisan multiple-choice questions about interest levels in certain elections, whether they are voting in the Nov. 5 election, and, if so, where they intend to cast their ballot.
86% of students indicated they intend to vote in the election with a 3.1% +/- margin of error considering a 95% confidence level. 31% of the students intending to vote will cast their ballots in the San Luis Obispo elections, with a 4.5% +/- margin of error considering a 95% confidence level.
“Maybe you do go home for the summer or you’re only here for school, but you do live here,” Martinez said, referring to other students. “Your choice and your actions affect the community as well. Even if you’re just planning to be here for three or four years, you’re still here. Everything that happens in the city still affects you.”
Martinez, a mechanical engineering junior, also works at a boutique in downtown San Luis Obispo. With rising parking fees, climbing rent prices and business closures, she’s ready to voice her opinion on policies in SLO.
Mustang News randomly surveyed students about their participation in the upcoming elections. Of the 464 randomly selected respondents, 86% intend to vote.
According to Barry Price, secretary of the SLO County Democratic Party Central Committee, one of the party’s primary objectives is getting students to register to vote in the county’s local elections. He said many students do not realize the impact of San Luis Obispo local elections.
“We really believe that to be politically engaged you should be voting where you live,” Price said. “If you want to affect housing availability, the cost of rent in this community, these are on the ballot in this county.”
Randall Jordan, Chairman of the Republican Party of SLO County, believes students, as “temporary residents,” should vote based on their home community or state instead of changing their address to vote in San Luis Obispo.
“I think that their roots are where they come from and most students will go back to that area after college,” Jordan said. “It would be more beneficial for them to vote in their local elections where they came from.”
Biochemistry freshman Bryce McCarthy is excited to vote for the first time this year and will cast his ballot in his hometown, San Diego. He has been following the mayoral race for the past two years.
“I considered whether or not to change my address,” McCarthy said. “I chose not to because I’ve been here for a month. I think in order to make a more informed decision, I want to do more research.”
Over the next few years at Cal Poly, McCarthy thinks he will eventually start to vote in San Luis Obispo’s elections. Cal Poly students indicated a low-interest level in this year’s SLO elections, based on the Mustang News election participation survey.
Whitney Cser will also vote outside of San Luis Obispo, in Roseville, CA. In contrast to McCarthy, Cser is focused on national elections and the power of the presidency.
“With certain presidents, there has been an extreme high in inflation and that affects me,” the nutrition freshman said. “I really got interested in politics during COVID, when there was so much controversy over masks and vaccines. It was so political. It should have been about health.”
Based on the survey results, Cal Poly students tend to be highly interested in the presidential election. A third of respondents indicated the highest level of interest in the presidential election, compared to 4% of respondents who indicated the highest level of interest in the San Luis Obispo elections.
Cser is unlikely to vote in SLO elections while being a student at Cal Poly but is looking forward to voting for the first time.
“Being in California, I feel like I don’t have much of a say because we’re such a blue state. Other than that, it is exciting to be able to vote,” Cser said.
Math junior Damian Gutierrez grew up in SLO County and believes every vote matters, even if California historically favors the Democratic party.
“I’ve always heard, ‘Oh, it’s California. So-and-so is going to win anyway,’” Gutierrez said. “That’s so frustrating to hear because it truly means so much to vote.”
Gutierrez acknowledges that many races likely will not be close in California, especially at the national level, but he believes exercising one’s right to vote defines living in America.
“I think it’s beautiful that we get to vote and pick who is going to have an impact on our life,” Gutierrez said. “If everyone thinks their vote doesn’t matter, then no one’s going to vote.”
Many students, like Quinn Pannell, a history junior, will be voting for the first time in a presidential election. Many undergraduate students at Cal Poly were under the voting age during the 2020 election.
“I think that politics can be very polarizing,” Pannell said. “Voicing your own political opinion is important and a right that we all have as American citizens. It’s important to exercise your right and share what you believe.”
