Tom Nighswander used to be just like millions of Americans.

The 36-year-old MSU graduate was bitter about the state of the country's political system, yet he was pessimistic about the ability of one person to change it.

And the 2000 presidential election fiasco did little to calm his unease.

"The 2000 election made people aware of the potential for mistakes or fraud in the election process," said Nighswander, who lives in Lansing. "It's unacceptable for the freest country in the world to have these problems."

Although the events of that year changed his apathetic view toward politics, it did little to affect the qualms he had about changing the system, he said, adding that at the time, he felt like there was nothing he could do to have a big effect.

"Issues would bother me, but that was as far as it would get," said Nighswander, who works as a telecommuter for IBM. "I didn't feel there were things I could do to make a change."

That was before he discovered Election Protection a few months ago while surfing the Internet.

The group is a newly-founded, New York-based volunteer organization dedicated to informing voters about their rights and ending voter suppression.

"It was a group that was organized, and I liked the idea of many individuals working together to actually get something done," he said. "It seemed like there was an actual end result, where we could see that it in fact did help somebody.

"I decided to do something instead of just complaining."

He is now one of more than 11,000 volunteers with Election Protection. The group has designated a total of 46 cities in 17 states as "high risk" for voter problems, intentional or unintentional, based on their analysis of the 2000 election. More than 4 million voters were disenfranchised that year, according to the group's Web site.

David Caceres, a fellow MSU graduate, said he's been surprised at how his long-time friend has reshaped his outlook on politics.

"I don't even think he used to vote," Caceres said. "The last couple of years, his attitude toward it has changed a lot. I don't think he'll ever go back to being apathetic."

Volunteers for the group will be at the polls on election day, ensuring everyone who is eligible to vote is able. The four main areas where Michigan volunteers will be are Detroit, Inkster, Pontiac and Flint, which will be Nighswander's turf.

Minority-populated cities had issues with voter suppression and voters being disenfranchised in the 2000 election, said Perry Lange, senior legislative representative for People for the American Way Foundation, an Election Protection affiliate group.

Even in this year's election, some politicians have suggested the need for voter suppression. State Rep. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, spurred controversy earlier this year when he said Republicans would have a tough time in the election without suppressing the Detroit vote.

"It's certainly OK for parties to try and persuade voters," Lange said. "But no candidate and no party should be trying to keep people from the polls and from making their own decisions.

"That's a fundamental breach of democracy."

Some people at the polls give out misinformation, Nighswander said, such as telling voters they have to have a picture ID in a state where it isn't required. Or, if there are issues about a voter's registration, some people aren't informed they can cast a provisional ballot, which allows people to vote without their voter registration, but with the promise that their registration can be checked and validated.

Volunteers have an in-person, three-hour training session in the city where they will work. The weekend before the election, they will canvass their area to give people the Voter's Bill of Rights.

"With the massive numbers of new voters who registered this year, there's a lot of potential for people to be confused, and we want to help motivate them to know their rights and get to the polls," Nighswander said.

And the problems aren't isolated to Michigan. Nighswander said there was a recent incident in Georgia where a flier was distributed to a largely minority-populated area that forewarned residents they needed to have their bills paid before they would be allowed to vote.

"It's a major problem when people try to get informed but get bad information," Nighswander said.

If any problems occur at the polls this November, more than 5,000 lawyers and law students will be on-call, ready to be dispatched to check out the situation and correct the problems.

The responsibility for accurate information to be disseminated lies on the shoulders of local units of government, Nighswander said. Some of the intricacies aren't as easy to find out about, and voters aren't always motivated to try and comprehend those details, he added.

"The people need to do everything they can do be informed, but sometimes they just need a boost," Nighswander said.

Nighswander said the main thing that drives him in his effort is the desire to make sure everyone is allowed to vote and that the voting system is fair, honest and open.

"You can campaign and support whoever you want, but if the votes don't count, it's kind of pointless," he said.

Whereas previous elections suffered from low voter turnout, Nighswander said he's seen a change in people's attitudes toward the upcoming election.

"A lot of people are involved now that were generally apathetic about it before because they used to think the system didn't work or that their vote wasn't going to matter," Nighswander said. "Some of them have been pushed too far with the current political climate for them to ignore it any longer."

Part of the discontent many citizens have with this year's political atmosphere stems from the problems that occurred during the 2000 election, he said.

"People won't contest the outcome of this election if they can be sure it has a fair outcome," Nighswander said. "This administration would have had less detractors from their progress if everyone had seen it as legitimate from the get-go."

But Nighswander said his work won't stop when Jan. 20, 2005 rolls around. He added he wants to find out what else he can do to help out, such as being involved with voter reform.

"We've taken for granted so long that the system we've been using isn't infallible," Nighswander said. "Of any political cause, this has taken me in more than anything else.

"I've become more involved and interested than ever before."

For more information about Election Protection, visit the Web site at www.electionprotection2004.org.