Senior John Paiz said the turnout of students at the first election 2004 forum series was a reflection of young voters in general.
"I was disappointed not more people showed up, given New Mexico's status as a battleground state," he said.
About 30 students and community members attended the forum organized by UNM President Louis Caldera and the Department of Political Science.
The series was an attempt to bring the University community together to discuss political issues in an educational setting to help voters' decisions on Election Day.
Monday's panel featured three professors from the political science department: Lonna Atkeson, Christine Sierra and Gilbert St. Clair.
Each panelist focused on a different issue before a question-and-answer session.
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Atkeson said politics is costly and takes time and effort.
She said the greater the cost of participation, the lower the voter turnout rate is.
Forty-seven percent of New Mexicans turned out in the last election.
She said New Mexico is a small state, but is receiving a huge amount of attention.
"New Mexico is important because we don't know how the race will turn out," Atkeson said.
Sierra said New Mexico is also getting attention because Hispanics participate in politics at a higher rate than in other states.
She said Hispanics and Native Americans carried the state for Al Gore in the 2000 election.
Hispanics are the nation's largest and fastest growing minority population.
The number of Hispanic voters in the 2004 election is projected at 7 million in the United States.
Sierra said partisan patterns are stable for Hispanic voters, and most gravitate to the Democratic Party.
All of this has caused a keen interest in New Mexico as a battleground state, she said.
Sierra said turnout efforts are targeted toward Hispanics, but she worries because the turnout rate for Hispanic and Anglo groups has been declining.
St. Clair covered the history of the American two-party political system.
He said the two parties have survived by showing an ability to adapt.
"The important thing is to win the election, not stick to ideologies," he said.
Critics say there is no difference between the two parties, St. Clair said, therefore the election is based on appearance and style rather than issues and policies.
"It's looking at shades of gray when looking at these two parties," St. Clair said.
He said Republican and Democratic presidential candidates initially supported going to war although they have different methods of dealing with it. He said neither candidate proposes private solutions concerning health care, both support the No Child Left Behind Act, and both want tax cuts.
St. Clair said it is valuable for organizations to try and mobilize young voters.
"Getting them registered is one thing," he said. "Getting them to vote is another."
He said if there is a high level of participation in this election, it will put issues on the political agenda.
Sierra said young voters are targeted because they are a visible group of nonvoters.
She questioned whether efforts would matter on Nov. 2.
The forum was a nonpartisan event.
