Now that a record number of Michigan residents have registered for the November election, Genevieve Humenay wants to change the way people think about voting.

She's not concerned with party politics, nor is she fretful about whether people prescribe to her political beliefs.

Instead, the 2004 MSU graduate wants to make sure people get to the polls to cast their ballots on Nov. 2.

Humenay is the co-founder of Lansing Voters Matter, a nonpartisan organization she started with her roommate Michelle Johnson, a 2003 MSU graduate.

"We did some research and found that in the last presidential election, there were 20 precincts in Lansing with less than a 50 percent turnout from registered voters," said Humenay, 26, who holds a degree in social relations.

It doesn't do a lot of good to have thousands of people registered if less than half of them turn out at the polls, Humenay said. She said having that low of a turnout undermines the democratic process and isn't representative of the people in the mostly low-income precincts.

"We really got angry together," said Johnson. "We wanted to know what we were going to do to change this."

The pair live in Lansing, and run the nonprofit group out of their home. They work every day, and because they're a nonprofit, they also have to spend time seeking funding from other area organizations.

Johnson volunteered with Humenay at the Listening Ear Crisis Intervention Center, a 24-hour phone crisis center. But it wasn't until June that they really got to know each other more personally.

The pair was appalled at the poor turnout in the 2000 election, and had known since they became roommates that they needed to do something in this election - but they didn't know what.

"I had always known we'd become friends, because we both had similar ideas about what needed to happen in society," Johnson said, adding that when she returned from a trip to Denver she told Humenay exactly what that was: They needed to start a nonprofit organization.

"We see the world in very similar ways. That's why this works," Johnson said. "We know social change needs to come from individuals."

Johnson, who graduated with a degree in chemistry, had experience working with public policy and governmental agencies. She said Humenay had the necessary educational background that she was looking for.

"She's been a huge mentor to me with ideology of how social movements get started," Johnson said. "She brought to the table how to take the individual level to a global perspective."

The organization's main focus is to put the voter first and emphasize that their individual vote is important. There have been a lot of 3 a.m. discussions about what democracy needs to be and what it is to vote, Johnson said.

"We didn't want to go out and use fear to compel people to vote," Humenay said. "That's not going to convince people to vote who aren't already convinced."

Partisan groups try to convince people they should vote for a particular issue, Humenay said, but the group wanted to move away from that approach. She said people normally expect to be pressed to vote on issues that cross party lines, but are pleasantly surprised to find Lansing Voters Matter is just concerned with them making it to the polls.

"People have been very appreciative of our nonpartisan approach," Humenay said. "They expect we're there to manipulate their views and their decisions.

"The strategy so many organizations are taking is so focused on particular issues and candidates that it's like they're trying to elicit a one-time vote, which doesn't emphasize why voting is important," she said.

The pair said canvassing is the best way to access people. Because their efforts are concentrated in Lansing's poorer areas, a wide range of issues arise.

For instance, Humenay said some of the people feel helpless and don't think their voices are heard. Others don't even have a driver's license, so the two try to address particular, individual concerns. She said she wanted to let residents know the only way for them to have their voice heard is by voting and the only way to make changes is to participate.

"It's overwhelming for people to have to struggle to survive day-to-day and then to figure out all the logistics of voting," Humenay said.

Because so many of the 20 precincts are the lowest-income communities, the group didn't feel that setting up informational booths was the right approach, Humenay said.

"Going door-to-door proves that the individual is worth investing in," she said.

But the group is taking the whole deal one step further. They're talking to people more than once and individualizing their contacts in order to help them.

The group is now focused on coordinating with the people in the low-income communities to knock on their neighbors' doors to remind them to vote on Nov. 2.

They've also coordinated with Election Protection, a New-York based, all-volunteer organization dedicated to informing voters about their rights. Together they will hand out the Voter's Bill of Rights and the League of Women Voters' nonpartisan information guide about the election candidates.

"We're trying to foster structure and community support so they get in the habit of talking to each other about the importance of voting," Humenay said.

She said as a result of their nonpartisan approach, they have attracted all different kinds of volunteers, including older people and others across the political spectrum.

"It's a unifying idea," Humenay said.

The fact that Humenay is working to help the community isn't surprising, said Peter LeClair, a former neighbor and friend. LeClair, now a sophomore at Eastern Michigan University, was a student at Lansing Community College and met Humenay through the Lansing music scene.

"One thing I can always say about her was she was always listening," LeClair said. "No matter who it was, and what it was they had to say, she cared.

"She cared like no one I've ever known."

Humenay has always been involved in trying to help the people, and trying to empower them, said LeClair, who said he didn't know about Lansing Voters Matter.

"I had no idea about this, but having heard about it didn't surprise me at all," he said. "I've always expected her to get some recognition for her actions."

For more information about Lansing Voters Matter, call (517) 367-0625 or visit the Web site, at lansing.votersmatter.org.