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New Voters Project works to get new voters
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by Matthew Dolbey
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
< The New Voters Project, a nationwide group trying to get America’s youth to register before the November presidential election, has registered more than 1,000 University of Wisconsin students since its startup earlier in the year, according to the UW group’s media intern, Allie Gubin.
Volunteers and interns for the project are hoping to reach their goal of registering 17,000 UW students. Project workers gathered on Library Mall Tuesday in hopes of increasing the number of registered voters by asking passing students if they are registered voters.
April Anderson, a UW freshman and member of the Black Student Union volunteering for the project, said students would be at different locations around campus during the upcoming week.
The volunteers and interns may be found at Gordon Commons and the South East Recreation Facility.
Though the New Voters Project has chalked up impressive numbers for voter registration so far, Anderson said it is difficult to attract new voters while standing by their tables in front of Memorial Library, even though they give newly registered students a sucker.
“A lot of people have already registered,” Anderson said, adding that she does not know how many students on campus are currently not registered voters. “I think I got about five so far. More people have grabbed suckers than register.”
UW sophomore Anna Stellmacher, who patrolled Library Mall with Anderson, said some people are unpleasant when asked if they are registered.
“Some people are rude,” Stellmacher said, adding that her co-volunteers are not aggressive and simply ask people to sign up to vote.
“After a while, you get used to it,” Anderson added.
Though the plight to get a traditionally unmotivated block of the U.S. population to vote is difficult, Fred Winer, manager of the food cart Bubble Tea and Great Food, acknowledged the workers’ good intentions and gave them complimentary egg rolls because “it’s good business” and he believes in the program.
“As you grow older, you realize how [messed] up the world is … and getting people to vote is important,” Winer said. “I greatly encourage them (the workers getting potential voters to register).”
Gubin said projects like this one, if successful, would force candidates to look to students for input on important issues.
“Candidates should, without a doubt, should look to us to students,” Gubin said.
Gubin said UW is the “model” locale for trying to increase student voter turnout.
The New Voters Project is a bipartisan group in six states working with several other national voting campaigns, including Rock the Vote, MTV’s Choose or Lose and the Youth Vote Coalition.
The project is also coordinating with local student organizations.
Madison is the largest campus location with the highest registration goal the groups are taking on.
The project is working throughout the state of Wisconsin and hopes to attract 85,000 new voters before November.
Anonymous (September 23, 2004 @ 8:19am):
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