The Democrats should not have wasted its time lobbying college students but, instead, reached out to the poor, said Hakimah Jabbar, 22, a senior at the University of Cincinnati.
"The college students had already made up their minds," said Jabbar, who voted for Kerry. "If they're going to vote, they're going to vote. I think they targeted the wrong people."
Others may have simply seen the long lines at some polling places and walked away, especially in the sour weather that pounded Ohio all day, said John Green, a political science professor at the University of Akron.
While standing up for his own students, Green said the average college student wouldn't feel too guilty if he or she didn't vote.
"It's one thing to stand in line. It's another thing to stand in line in the rain," Green said. "Students at the University of Akron include a lot of marginal voters who would be discouraged."