On-Campus Registration Rises

With this year's election so closely spilt between parties, candidates are relying on the support from student voters to swing the vote to their side.

Over 80 percent of young registered voters say they are paying attention to this year's campaign compared to 63 percent in 2000, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Locally, UB's number of student voter registrations in the Student Union has increased by over 100 this year from the last presidential election in 2000. University officials said they are pleased more students are registered to vote, but hope an increase in registration also means an increase in actual voters on Election Day.

In the 2000 election, only 910 students were registered in the Union, and 649 ended up voting, according to Ed Brodka, UB voter registration coordinator.

Brodka added that many students are often misled into thinking they can vote on Election Day without registering in advance.

"Students need to know that they cannot just show up at Student Union 145B and expect to vote," Brodka said. "They can only vote there if they live in Ellicott, Governors, Hadley Village or Creekside Village and put that campus address as their residence when they registered to vote."

Brodka said this year there are 1,084 students registered to vote in the Student Union.

"As of the week before (Tuesday's) election, there were only 1,084 students registered to vote in the Student Union polling location," he said. "This only includes those students who live and are registered to vote at their address in Ellicott, Governors and Hadley Village and Creekside. Flint Village and South Lake Village and students living at the Super 8 vote at the Amherst Pepsi Center."

Since 2000, about 14 million young people have turned 18 and are registered to vote nationwide, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Thanks to that increase, there are more eligible 18-25 year old voters in 2004 than in any election since 1984, and young voters make up one-fifth of this year's electorate.

The majority of UB students eligible to vote will travel home on Election Day or vote by absentee rather than go to the Union or the Pepsi Center to vote, Brodka said.

"About 80 percent of students who live in the residence halls will either go home to vote because they are from the Western New York area or they will have voted by absentee ballot because they could not get home to vote," he said.

The Student Association will be running shuttle vans from the Student Union and dorm locations to the off-campus polling locations such as the Amherst Pepsi Center and Gloria Parks Community Center.

The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Students going to vote should bring a valid ID.