When Ohio voters go to the polls on Tuesday, the names Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be familiar, but other names on the ballot may not ring a bell.

With last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Cleveland, it is clear the presidential race is receiving a lot of attention. Many students are familiar with Obama and Clinton’s policies involving the Iraq War and health care, but when asked about local politics, many seem to not know much at all.

Sophomore Jessica Orchard invests her time to keep up with the presidential race because one of the candidates will be the new leader of this country, she said.

But Orchard does not keep up with the local candidates as much.

“It’s hard to find info and if [the media] is talking about a certain person and you don’t know who they are, it’s sometimes hard to find information on them,” she said.

“I think students aren’t very informed about local issues,” said Mike Zickar, Wood County Democratic Party chair. “I think students care more about presidential politics. The amount of votes drop in non-presidential years.”

According to Ohio.gov, more than 71 percent of Ohioans took part in voting for the last presidential election in 2004.

In non-presedential years from 2005-2006, voter turnout dropped to an average of under 48 percent.

With voter turnout low in these years and the information ignored in many national media, many local candidates feel they need to help the public become aware of these issues.

“It’s my job to help them understand that as a candidate, I need to process the information that is out there [to make it] vital for people to know what is going on,” said Scott Radcliffe, Republican candidate for U.S. Congress.

Radcliffe continues to stress how important it is to take part in a local election.

“I believe you must be an informed voter,” he said. “To have a vote is to have power, and I believe you need to exercise that power in an informed way.”

And local politicians often have a say in important issues that presidents cannot address as directly.

“In terms of tuition and higher education, the president has very little to do with what is going to happen at local state colleges in Ohio,” Zickar said.

“But the governor and state legislator really set things that will affect tuition and scholarship money within the state,” he said.

“They have more control to do things directly impacting students,” Orchard said.

But to be an informed voter, citizens have to know the issues by viewing or reading about them.

Bob Latta, U.S. Congressman for the 5th Congressional District, said that in a presidential election there is going to be a lot more interest generated from the public as opposed to a local one.

“It’s the No. 1 job in the world being president of the United States,” he said.

“There is no other country having a greater influence than the president of the Unites States and people really follow it with the race.”

Latta said even with a fraction of the funds a presidential candidate will use, a local official can be more personable with the locals by meeting people and using techniques like going door-to-door, lobbying their policies.

Even with these tactics, it still might be hard to get students involved in voting.

“Students don’t vote very frequently in local elections,” Zickar said. “Students are very perceptive in learning, but feel helpless in getting information on people on the ballot.”

For some students, it might be hard to pay attention to the elections when not everyone attending the University lives in Ohio.

Radcliffe understand this is a problem with students because he experienced the same by being from Perrysburg and attending West Point Academy in New York.

“It’s hard to get a feel for the local race,” he said. “Unless you are going to school in the same general area you were raised in, it’s hard to get a feel for the local races.”

Latta said in order for students to be more involved in local politics, they should read up on local newspapers from Bowling Green.

David Jackson, associate professor of political science, said students should pay attention because of how much time they spend here.

“[Students] spend nine months of the year at Bowling Green; it’s more important to pay attention and register to vote here than back home,” Jackson said.

Students should pay attention because at each level of government, taxes have to be paid no matter where one is from, Jackson said.

But what might have most students turned off to a local election is the lack of exposure and a feeling of trust being absent.

“People are distrustful or skeptical of most information that is fed to them about politicians, it’s hard to trust,” Zickar said.

Radcliffe is one of those politicians trying to get students to trust him so they can feel they make a difference in local elections.

“I have made an effort to reach out with the students of Bowling Green because it is important to get them involved. College students are very passionate about what is going on,” Radcliffe said.

Everything starts at a small level, including politics, Radcliffe said.

“To know that person’s views and opinions is vital to making sure you are correctly represented for the nation’s highest law-making body.”