When students vote for City Council members today, some say their votes will not have great impact.
Ann Arbor is divided into five pie-shaped wards that begin in the center of the city and radiate outward, distributing University students into all the wards.
"Among the five wards, student voters are dispersed mostly evenly," said Deputy City Clerk Yvonne Carl. "However, the 5th Ward has fewer students proportionally."
Some say this even dispersion means there are low percentages of students in every ward, weakening the student impact.
"I don't think the students are given an equal voice in the city government of Ann Arbor," said Nicholas Kirk, president of the campus College Republicans. "The best answer for students would be to switch to an at-large vote. The top vote-getters in the city would get the City Council seats, and students would have more of a voice."
An at-large election would eliminate the ward divisions, and instead the top vote-getters in the city would win council seats. But some local politicians do not agree with the idea of an at-large election.
"If the vote was at large, people would not have a specific member to call if they had a problem," said Christopher Kolb (D-5th Ward), City Council member and Democratic mayoral candidate. "I support the ward system. It allows citizens to focus on two members of council if they have any concerns."
Councilmember Jane Lumm (R-2nd Ward) agreed that an at-large election is not a viable alternative.
"I am not sure it would work well if we had an at-large election," Lumm said. "In terms of practicality, it is good to become familiar with your constituents."
However, Lumm said the wards should be redrawn to give students more influence.
"I think we should look at creating a ward that encompasses the area where the vast majority of students reside," Lumm said. "Students' voices are dispersed, and to concentrate that voice would be most beneficial to students."
Mayor Ingrid Sheldon said that while there are some positives in an at-large election, she believes students currently affect the city elections in the ward system.
"From my perspective, students have a tremendous impact," Sheldon said. "Historically, the ward system was created to be pie-shaped to reflect the diverse population of the city."
City Council member Jean Carlberg (D- 3rd Ward) agreed that students can affect the elections in a ward system.
"Some wards have more students than others," Carlberg said. "However, students can make a difference if they choose to vote."
Probir Mehta, vice president of the Michigan Student Assembly, compared the equal division of student voters to gerrymandering district lines in the South to decrease the effect of black voters.
"I'm not sure if it's intentional, but the City Council should be more cognizant of student voters," Mehta said. "It's a valid view to say students' views are diluted."
If the City Council decided to redraw the wards, they would not be able to until the next census in the year 2000, Kolb said.
Political science Prof. Gregory Marcus, who also is a researcher at the Center for Political Studies, said there are many alternatives to a ward system, but none is ideal.
"There is no perfect system," Marcus said. "Any method you could come up with has pluses and minuses."