With a landmark and highly competitive presidential election coming up Nov. 2, the university's drive to get students registered to vote couldn't be called anything other than appropriate.
We're a nation with a voting problem. Only an aggregate 51.3 percent of the population voted in 2000. Of the overall population, only 36.1 percent of 18-24-year-olds participated in the last election. This could easily change under a widespread system of voter registration, and that's exactly what the university is trying to do.
Other than smaller bands of civic activists or Democratic and Republican groups registering people to vote, there has never been a university-wide registration campaign that seems so impressive. Maybe it's about time, since the university has an exponentially better chance of successfully reaching students than any other group seeking to register student voters. MSU's YouVote voter registration task force has already used this kind of official power to send out an e-mail to all MSU students.
People are much more interested in the presidential election this year, if only because everyone has something personal at stake. Most people have strong opinions on the war in Iraq, and the catastrophic failure of the polling system in Florida during the last presidential race is a galvanizing motivation to register. The events of the last four years have polarized to a point where the reluctant voter might finally crawl out to the polls.
For this reason, it's all the more satisfying that the YouVote campaign is a nonpartisan movement in the midst of highly partisan times. YouVote isn't telling you who to vote for, they're asking you to ensure that your own voice is heard. But this concept should not be tossed aside after the end of the presidential election. YouVote should have a presence in registering students post Nov. 2, even for the most local government elections.
It could be difficult to get all of the more than 40,000 MSU students to vote, but it should nevertheless be attempted. The only association on campus capable of reaching all MSU students is the same one to which you write your tuition checks. MSU wants you to vote and so do we.
Before you rush out and register, there are some tricky legal technicalities you should know about. If you register to vote, your polling location will match the address on your driver's license. So, if you're away from home make sure to get an absentee ballot from your hometown city clerk to avoid any strange voting side-effects. If this is your first time voting, congratulations, but make sure to register in person. Otherwise, registration by mail leaves you out of luck to use an absentee ballot.
To register in person, head to East Lansing's Secretary of State office, 400 Albert Ave., or meet up with YouVote representatives, 5-7 p.m., Sept. 21 at Holmes Hall, Sept. 22 at Holmes Hall or Sept. 29 at Shaw Hall. If you miss registering on campus with YouVote, you'll have until Oct. 4 to register at the Secretary of State office.
If you still need more information, try checking youvote.msu.edu for further instructions. Or, stay tuned to our Opinion page and be reminded again.
