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UCLA student Patricia Go often sees volunteers tabling on Bruin Walk to re-register students to vote, but she said she has never had the time to stop to ask for information and pick up a form.

“It’s not that I don’t want to vote, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I just don’t have the time to stop,” said Go, a second-year undeclared student.

Like Go, many students said they have opted not to vote because they find re-registering or voting absentee inconvenient.

Students who move to UCLA from another county must either re-register in Los Angeles or vote absentee. Students moving to a different address within the residence halls or Westwood apartments may also have to re-register to receive a new polling site.

“It definitely deters students,” said Lauren Macheski, student vote director of the EVP office of the UC Student Association and former Bruin News 29 executive producer.

Alethea Avramis, a fourth-year history student, said she votes absentee to avoid the process of re-registration.

“I vote absentee because it’s just easier,” said Avramis, adding that she has not re-registered in Los Angeles, though she said she will eventually do so.

Avramis said a major advantage to voting absentee is the ability to vote without waiting in any long lines.

Thomas Schwartz, a professor of political science, said voting absentee can be a better choice for students who wish to remain involved in the political community where they grew up. By voting absentee, students can be active in their local elections and local community.

“It’s not a bad thing (to vote absentee),” said Schwartz.

Another reason to vote absentee is that some students prefer to retain ties to their hometown if they plan to find jobs or internships in their polling precinct, Schwartz said.

But there is also concern among students that votes are less likely to be counted if they are submitted via absentee ballot.

“Sometimes the register’s office is slow and your vote may not be counted (if you vote absentee),” Macheski said.

Pilar Whitaker, a second-year undeclared student, said he registered to vote on campus last year “because it’s more likely that your vote won’t get counted if you vote absentee.”

But some students choose to avoid the long lines by skipping the voting process altogether.

Richard Patricelli, field representative of the Department of Registrar-Recorder who has encouraged students to vote on Bruin Walk, said he has found that students say they feel they do not know enough about the candidates to vote or feel that their vote will not make a difference.

Some students cited laziness and lack of knowledge about the registration process as reasons for their decision not to re-register to vote.

Go said as a student she does not have the time to worry about voting and voter registration.

Macheski said many students also do not realize a change of mailing address on the Hill may mean a new polling site. This may pose a problem when students try to vote and discover they are not registered at that address.

“If you move from De Neve to Rieber, you will have a different polling site,” Macheski said.

Because he said the re-registration process is easy, Schwartz stressed the convenience with which UCLA students can re-register on campus.

Macheski said many students don’t even realize they can re-register at their dorm address. All the resident advisors on the Hill were trained by UCSA to inform residents on the voter registration process.

UCSA has also created a voter education guide to inform students of voter registration policies and dispel the myth that voting is a complicated and time-consuming process.