Vote smart

Leonardo DiCaprio, MTV, P. Diddy and Burger King agree: your vote matters. More than ever, young voters are getting a big push to register, vote and get their voices heard.

It happens every four years, but this particular election seems to be highly anticipated.

Whether people are ready for "W." to finally be out of office or concerned about the timely economic crisis or the War in Iraq, people are ready for a change.

Most would agree, however, especially younger voters, that race and gender will play a huge role in the 2008 presidential election.

"People are not as informed as they could be," said Andrew Porter, a sophomore psychology major. "They're basing their decision off of race and gender instead of the importance of the issues."

Many groups geared towards young voters, such as The League of Young Voters and Young Voter PAC, reach out to the under-25 crowd in hopes of electing a democratic candidate.

According to the Web site, www.pewresearch.org, a clear majority of 18-to 29-year old registered voters say they are Democrats or lean towards the Democratic Party.

Even so, it's unclear whether young voters actually identify with the beliefs of the Democratic Party, or they like the fact that there could be a black president for the first time in history.

"I hope that people are well informed," said Jessica Falkner, a senior English major. "But there are a lot of ignorant people who just care about the first black president or having a woman in office."

The issues in the 2008 election are also incredibly important to the futures of young voters.

"The economy is the biggest issue facing young people. Maybe not immediately, but definitely in the future when we start working," Falkner said.

With all of the political jargon and tough issues, it's sometimes hard for younger voters to understand and stay informed about what each candidate is promising to change.

Web sites, such as VoteSmart.org, break each candidate's policies, decisions and beliefs into an easy to read format. People can see which way a candidate voted on a particular issue and even find recent speeches given by that candidate.

Voting organizations, such as "Rock the Vote," give younger people a better understanding of political issues and urges young people to change their world.

"I'm definitely planning on voting because I don't want to be one of those people who complains about things but doesn't do anything to change it," Falkner said.

It's been said that younger voters could decide this election, but both Porter and Falkner believe people don't care enough to vote.

"Young people don't vote because they're not politically informed, they don't care or they feel they're vote doesn't count," Falkner said.

Still, some people have their reasons for not voting.

"I'm not voting because I don't believe that either of the candidates is good enough," said Nicole Abate, a senior English major.

Because she is not voting, Abate does not stay as informed as some of her peers.

"The debates aggravate me," Abate said.

Abate agrees with Porter and Falkner that the general public is also not as informed as they should be for this election.

While Porter gets his information from newspapers and the Internet, Falkner likes to listen to NPR for election updates.

"I watch portions of each debate but they're not as important to me since it's the same issues [the candidates] have been campaigning about for the last year," Falkner said.

Still unsure of whom to vote for? A Web site called, www.vajoe.com, gives people access to a candidate calculator. It's an online survey where people can find which presidential candidate agrees with their own beliefs.

Besides the fact that this election will directly affect today's 18- to 25-year olds, voting is an important part of living in the U.S. Even if someone is not registered to vote they have no reason to not stay informed about the issues surrounding the election and candidates.

Visit www.RocktheVote.com for information voting and the presidential candidates.