Youngest Don't Vote

Jarrett Steil, a senior at East Hampton High School who turned 18 on Oct. 7, voted on Tuesday for the first time.

"It felt weird. I wasn't sure how to work the booth at first but it's pretty self-explanatory once you get in there," said the Montauk youth.

Jarrett and 56 other high school students turned 18 before Election Day, making them eligible (except for a few who are not citizens) to pull the levers on Election Day. The Star talked with about a dozen of them, and found Jarrett to be the only one who voted.

He said his parents, Alan and Celeste Steil, have no party affiliation. Their son said they "just look for the best candidates." He took their advice, picking some Democrats and some Republicans.

Once A Candidate

Many of the candidates were incumbents who seemed to be doing a fine enough job, he said. Jarrett was himself once a candidate, getting elected freshman class president three years ago by pledging to "do the best I could."

On the afternoon of Election Day, just as school was letting out, The Star found four of his classmates who were eligible to vote, learning that two were registered but that only one said he "might" go to the polls.

Sean Barber, a lifeguard from a fishing family, said he was most interested in the debate over the Viking gambling cruise and the proposed town laws on ferries. His government and economics class, taught by Claude Beudert, discussed local issues frequently and used news articles about the controversy.

Mr. Beudert happened by, offering to drive Sean to the polls if he needed a ride. The teacher said he tries to start each class with a discussion of some current event, hands out sample ballots, and organizes field trips around the East End.

Building Boom

A recent discussion focused on the building boom here over the last few years, and Mr. Beudert said the seniors especially observed for themselves how East Hampton was nonetheless apart from other places.

"They drive. They see the difference with Southampton Town," he said, adding, though, that making the transition from the observable to the abstract is not easy even for people old enough to vote.

"We still have trouble telling the difference between Democrats and Republicans - it's a difficult concept - but the great thing about East Hampton is most kids have a personal connection to local government. They actually know the people who run things. A neighbor, a family friend. That wouldn't be the case in a town like Huntington," he said.

Eighteen-year-olds may register at any time during the year they become of voting age. Alexandra Hiotakis, a Montauk resident whose birthday was last month, said she wasn't sure whether she had.

Town Campaign

"I'd be scared to vote because I could vote for somebody who shouldn't be in office, somebody who would ruin everything I stand for. Besides, I don't really understand what they say when they talk," she said of the politicians.

Her government class did not talk about any of the issues that framed this year's town campaign. "We have to follow the curriculum," she said.

One 18-year-old who made a point of voting was Christina Bernard, who left for college in September just before her qualifying birthday. She filled out her absentee ballot on Homecoming Weekend and asked her father, Town Councilman Len Bernard, to look it over - but only to be sure it was filled out properly.

"She's very independent-minded," said Mr. Bernard, who is a Republican, adding that Christina's picks were her own and declining to say what they were.

Timothy Rood, who teaches history, said he and his fellow teachers make sure all eligible students get a voter registration form. For that reason, Joy Lupoletti, co-president of the League of Women Voters, said her group's registration drive did not set up tables at the high school.

It did at Southampton College, adding 160 voters there to the rolls, and at Suffolk County Community College, where 72 students signed up. But the students who declined to register outnumbered those who did.

"They are so disassociated. It's sad really. They said they weren't interested, they didn't care. You just can't believe some of the comments we heard," said Mrs. Lupoletti. Last spring, the league sent letters to all the high school principals, offering to register eligible students and talk to them about voting.

Josephine Di Vincenzi, the Southampton High School principal, is an active league member and took matters into her own hands. The only other educator who responded was James Sloane, a social studies teacher at Pierson High School in Sag Harbor.

Megan Vaughan, an East Hampton senior who turned 18 in March, said she thought about registering but "never got around to it."

"When I vote, I want to do it right. I want to understand what's going on," she said.

Mr. Rood said his advanced placement classes in politics and government focus almost entirely on national issues. "Local issues come up only tangentially," he said, adding none of his students this year is old enough to vote.

Jessica Haab, who is 17 and one of his students, said the only local matters that had arisen in class so far were what the town should do with the old fishing station at Maidstone Park and the proposed regulations for ferries.

David Martin, also an East Hampton senior, said he had no interest in politics and no intention of going to the polls, though he had registered. "I don't care who wins. I'll be out of here in a few months anyway," he said.

He also said his government class did not touch on any local issue. On Election Day, he said, they watched a movie, "The American President," a romantic comedy about a President and his social life.