The Orient found 100 students at locations around campus who said they did not vote. In order to gather as many responses as possible and to encourage candor, the Orient granted students anonymity.
A plurality of these students said they chose not to vote because they felt uninformed about the issues.
"I don't really know anything about Maine politics," said one.
Other students expressed uncertainty about where they were supposed to be voting, and where they were registered.
"I was confused about where I was registered, and I didn't have the time to clear it up," one student said.
Many were simply "too busy" to vote and cited classes, exams, or work in general as their explanation.
Many out-of-state students either forgot or did not receive absentee ballots on time.
Some students expressed doubt in the value of an individual vote.
"The election still would've gone the way it went if I had voted," said one.
Another said he did not vote because he would have voted for Democrats and "Maine is a solid blue state, anyway."
Others had a general distaste for the political system.
"I didn't feel like there was a race worth voting in," said one.
Another simply did not believe in the American political system.
A few students had very simple explanations for not voting. Some were not yet 18, others were not U.S. citizens.
Explained one student, "I'm foreign."
One student declared he was a nihilist, and gave no further explanation.