On Nov. 2, 2004, Americans will have the chance to exercise
their right to dictate who the leader of the United States will be
for the next four years. Many people take this opportunity for
granted, and unfortunately, few young Americans are registered to
vote.

America Coming Together, the largest voter registration program
in history, is trying to educate non-registered Americans about the
importance of voting. The group is non-partisan and is devoted to
making registration available, motivating students and educating
people about their right to vote.

“Only two percent of college students vote and many claim [they
do not vote] because they are not educated in the issues, which is
unacceptable,” says Claire Zinda, an affiliate of ACT and a Saint
Louis University sophomore. To improve this statistic, ACT will
hold events along with other colleges in St. Louis.

Another group that is extensively promoting voter registration
is the Saint Louis University chapter of College Republicans.
According to Karyn Fix, the secretary of the SLU chapter of College
Republicans, students should vote because “if you don’t like the
way things are going [in America], then change them.” Democracy is
exercised in the United States, which means that every person that
is at least 18 years of age has the fundamental right to vote, once
he or she registers.

The responsibility of young Americans to register to vote is an
opportunity for them to “stand up for things they believe in,” said
Wesley Gozia, treasurer of SLU’s chapter of College
Republicans.

Among the many political issues that every American encounters
on a daily basis, Gozia and Fix deem medical malpractice, education
and tax cuts as being of utmost importance concerning issues that
most-affect young Americans are most affected by.

“Young people are the people that sway the vote,” said Fix.
Therefore, in what is presumed to be a close election, young
Americans have the potential to have an even greater impact on the
outcome of the presidential election.

In an effort to register college students to vote, the College
Republicans are working in the residence halls to promote the
importance of voting, and will have information booths set up at
least once a week until Oct. 2, which is the last day to register
in order to obtain eligibility for voting in the 2004 presidential
election.

Students who prefer to register in their state of permanent
residence can do so and still vote in the presidential elections
even while at school; however, for some states, the time allotted
for registration for an absentee ballot has run out. Students can
still register in Missouri, which according to Zinda can “make or
break the election” because Missouri is a swing state.

Zinda encourages students to vote because “every person has a
voice, and in such an important state like Missouri, why not take a
couple of minutes on Tuesday, Nov. 2 to use it?”

To find out more about voter registration visit
www.americacomingtogether.com, and to find out more about voting in
the state of Missouri in particular, visit missouri.actforvictory.org.