For 2008, AU's Student Government plans to increase student voter registration by starting a program similar to one already implemented by the George Washington University Student Association.
GW Votes, a new nonpartisan initiative developed by the GW Student Association, aims to register all GW students who are eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election. A newly updated Web site, gwvotes.com, allows students to access information on registration, absentee ballots and eligibility requirements, along with voter registration drives, debates and information on "Dorm Storms"- scheduled residence hall visits by GW Votes volunteers. The organization hopes to increase student registration in the upcoming presidential election.
Vidulich said he had been in contact with Chloe Lew, director of GW Votes and vice president for undergraduate student policy for the GW Student Association, and is working to develop a Web site for AU students similar to GW Votes. The Web site will allow students to access information on the registration process and the importance of voting.
"It's not just getting people registered that's important," Vidulich said. "It's getting people interested and telling them why they should vote ... because their vote does matter."
Once the Web site is ready, the SG will send an e-mail to the AU community letting them know how they can access the site. The SG will also be working with other student organizations to organize voter registration drives later in the semester, Vidulich said.
The initiative developed under the auspices of GW's then-Student Association Vice President Edward Buckley and Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs Bernard Demczuk, according to a 2004 article in By George!, GW's faculty, staff and community newspaper. The pair originally set a goal of registering 2,000 students but decided to push for 100 percent registration after witnessing high levels of enthusiasm early on.
The initial 2004 campaign was able to register the majority of undergraduate students at GW and helped more than 85 percent of those registered to request absentee ballots.
AU, along with GW, ranked among the top 10 "most politically active" universities in the nation in the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review's "Best 366 College Rankings."
Becky Mezzanotte, a freshman in the School of International Service, said she believes this is largely a result of the school's location.
"It's hard to stay away from politics because were right in the middle of it," Mezzanotte said.
Student civic participation is important, said Cory Duvalier, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
"[Students] need to consider what happens in the future and voting directly affects it," Duvalier said.
Forty-two percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24, including 77 percent of students, voted in the 2004 presidential election, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a nonpartisan research organization.
"The issues affect us more then everyone else," said Will Haun, president of the AU College Republicans. "We need to have a voice to have an effect on the future."
The College Republicans have been involved in campaign efforts for the 2008 presidential race. Their initial activities were focused on getting students "on the ground," helping in the campaigns and supporting their candidates and will later focus on coordinating voter registration drives with other student organizations to help all students vote, Haun said.
