At Harvard, politicians usually get more of a turnout than the football team--but that doesn't mean there's always a huge turnout at the ballot box.

Just ask Ezra R. Keshet, an Eliot House senior who, although registered to vote in nearby Newton, Mass., couldn't find the time yesterday to get to the polls.

"I have such a busy day," Keshet said as he waited for a Fly-by lunch in Loker Commons. "I'm in a play and I have a problem set."

Michael R. Brauwerman '00, of Lowell House, didn't make it as far as Keshet; he isn't registered to vote.

"It requires going somewhere and I just never went. I'm shirking my obligation," Brauwerman said. "I hope I'm not the only one who didn't vote or I'd be a loser."

Other students seemed to suffer from a sort of Harvard-induced anomie.

"I feel so isolated from the world. I'm not connected enough to make a decision," said Lucia R. Henderson '01. Kentucky resident Ben S. Edelson '00 didn't vote yesterday because he is wary of changing his registration to Massachusetts.

"Switching registration for such a short period of time to here is problematic. People have recommended not doing it because it's tough not to have a permanent address," Edelson said. "I haven't really been in touch with Kentucky."

Despite cases of apathy, many Harvard students (and even some in the Fly-by lunch line) did make time to vote.

California native and government concentrator Brent D. Zettel '01 said absentee voting is vital to the political process.

"Otherwise, the same bastards would be running the country forever," Zettel said.

Some, like Harvard-Radcliffe College Democrats Co-President Michael J. Passante '99, argued that absentee voting is part of an individual's civic responsibility.

"It's important to express your opinion, even when you can't be there," he said.

His Republican Club counterpart Noah Z. Seton '00 voted with an absentee ballot from New York.

"Even though I live here most of the year, I consider myself a New Yorker," Seton said.