As the presidential election draws near, political activism is continuing to increase in Madison. Figures like Laura Bush, John Kerry, Elizabeth Edwards and Ralph Nader are among the many who have recently visited the city.

Each of these candidates have attempted to reach out to students and remind them they are in the middle of a massive campaign to win their vote.

Non-partisan groups such as the New Voter's Project, MTV's Rock the Vote and youthvote.org have been canvassing campus and the downtown area for months. Organizers say they are building the youth voting block in hopes that politicians will address the needs of young people in their campaign platforms.

And their efforts may be paying off. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 64 percent of young people say they are certain to vote in the November election, up from 11 percent in 2000.

A larger chunk of the oldest voting block, about 79 percent, say they will vote.

University of Wisconsin Political Science Professor Dennis Dresang said he has noticed students are more vocal about politics this year. He said he believes the current level of involvement on campus is high compared to recent years.

Dresang pointed to the small percentage of young voters who registered and voted in the last election, about 36 percent, and pointed out registration levels have already surpassed that, especially in Wisconsin.

"Wisconsin actually leads the country in their success in getting students to register," Dresang said. "It's a good place to set a model for the rest of the country as to how to get young people to vote."

Adam Alexander of the New Voter's Project says the group has experienced a great deal of success in Wisconsin, where they have already registered over 110,000 voters between the ages of 18-24, roughly 20 percent of all young eligible voters.

"It's almost ridiculous," Alexander said.

But several studies of young voters show registration numbers do little to prove actual turnout on voting day. The lack of student participation in the September primary could mean that fewer young Madison-area voters will turn out than are expected.

According to the Dane County Clerk's office, only 17 percent of eligible voters went to the polls in September, far less than other primary elections in recent years.

Dresang says the lack of turnout in the primaries should not be a gauge for the youth vote in Madison because many candidates were running unopposed.

"There really was not a whole lot of opportunity to get involved in the Madison area," he said.

Another factor influencing the youth vote are the issues many students feel are important.

According to the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of young voters are giving the election a lot more thought than they were four years ago, up 18 percentage points from the last election.

Former UW Student Beth Hooper said she got involved with the New Voter's Project because the issues of this election affect young people and every vote counts.

"I know that politicians look at the numbers very closely, and considering that it is such a close race, every vote will matter significantly," Hooper said. "The wars we have running, the state of the economy, and the rising costs of education are all important issues for young people in this election."

Though voter registration efforts have increased the pool of probable young voters, Dresang said he is not convinced candidates are truly addressing the issues that affect them. Some of those include student views with the war in Iraq, college tuition hikes and the state of the economy.

"They are addressing those issues, but not in the precise way that students would want them to be addressed," Dresang said.