About 2,000 University students either registered to vote or requested an absentee ballot for the first time as of yesterday, according to Albemarle County General Registrar Jackie Harris.
The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 2 general election in Virginia is Monday at 5 p.m.
The registration of new voters was spurred by a large voter registration effort that blanketed Grounds in recent days.
This year, 2,900 people are registered to vote at University Hall and the Kappa Sigma auditorium, precincts composed of predominantly University students. In the last presidential election, the districts recorded turnouts of 42 percent and 64.5 percent respectively, in contrast to the 71 percent turnout the County recorded at large.
"It's not an accessibility issue, but a question of comfort level," Harris said of these statistics.
According to a survey conducted by the Harvard Institute of Politics and the Chronicle for Higher Education, 68 percent of people aged 18-24 intend to vote in the upcoming election, an increase of 20 percent from the same survey in 2000.
The University's Center for Politics and a large coalition of student groups including the University Democrats, College Republicans, Student Council and Informed Voters Foundation are behind the voter registration effort. The efforts include tabling on the Lawn, in Newcomb Hall and at football games. Through the combined effort, 1,875 students have registered thus far, according to Alex Stolar, Council legislative affairs coordinator.
Student leaders on Grounds are upbeat about the prospects for student participation in the upcoming election. More then 50 students turned out for Monday night's debate between the College Republicans and Cavs for Kerry hosted by the non-partisan Informed Voter Foundation.
"People have started to show more interest," Foundation Co-President Sumedha Sood said. "The campus could be more active. People have the tendency to accept things as they are."
Students will reap the benefits of their participation through "tangible improvement in quality of education, and the creation of government jobs that bring high paying technology jobs to Virginia," said David Solimini, spokesperson for Virginia21, a non-partisan group dedicated to increasing youth participation.
Stolar also noted the positive benefits of increased student participation.
"When folks make their vote their voice, the more votes in that voice the louder it becomes," he said.
Stolar cited the educational bond initiative on the 2002 ballot as an example of how the elections can be relevant to students. The University stood to receive $68.3 million for capital improvements if the initiative passed, which it did, according to an article in Inside U.Va.
Yet, of the voters eligible to vote at University Hall only 22 percent voted, while the County at large recorded a turnout of 42 percent, Harris said.
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