MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff visited the University of California Irvine on Tuesday but could only find one student who said that he planned to vote.
During his visit to Rep. Mimi Walters’ (R-CA) district in Orange County, Soboroff noted that Republicans would be in trouble if Democrats are able to motivate the 26,000 students who attend the university.
The MSNBC reporter asked about two dozen students if they planned to vote. But only one student reluctantly raised his hand.
“What do you care about?” Soboroff asked a pair of students.
“School,” a student replied.
“If you’re going to vote, what is the thing that is going to get your vote?” the MSNBC reporter wondered.
“Probably school and expenses,” another student explained.
“You’re not talking about the news that people on the news talk about all the time,” Soboroff noted. “The Russia investigation, the Supreme Court.”
“I don’t watch the news,” the first student admitted.
Soboroff asked a second pair of students if they were registered to vote. Both said they were not.
“This could be your first election,” Soboroff said. “And ultimately you could decide whether or not the House of Representatives is in Republican control. Are you thinking about all that?”
“Not currently,” one of the two students remarked. “I assume that the people voting have at least some idea of who they are voting for.”
Another student said that she “should” vote because the student demographic is notoriously unreliable.
“That’s what the Democrats want,” Soboroff agreed. “But the Democrats can’t necessarily count on you guys to vote?”
“No,” the student acknowledged.
