Early voting participation expected to rise this year
By Emily Schultheis, Youth Vote '08 correspondent
He added that because of recent voter registration and education efforts, more voters are aware of their voting options.
One group working to register voters is Declare Yourself - the organization just launched "Why Wait," a program intended to educate people about early voting.
"It's really our chance to get out the vote," said Erika Johannson of Declare Yourself, "not only to register voters, but to make sure their votes count."
The organization's website, www.declareyourself.com/whywait, offers information about early voting rules in each state.
Student groups across the country are also stressing early voting awareness for young people.
Katie Naranjo, the president of the College Democrats of America, said the organization encourages students to vote early when possible.
"On Election Day, lines can be long, students can be busy, the weather can be unpredictable - there are a number of unknowns," she wrote in an e-mail. "Early voting helps ensure that every American has a say in this election."
But while early voting makes participating in the election easier for many people, it complicates the campaign process for the candidates, Miller said.
"If people are voting over a one-month stretch, it could be the latest news items that form someone's opinions," he said. "You don't know when you're going to get that last impact on people - it makes for a different campaign process."
He added that if the election is close - which this year's race may be - the volume of early votes will contribute to a higher level of post-election confusion.
"There are so many people that are going to be participating in alternative ways of voting that it promises to extend the election, and also to confuse the election," he said. "You could get Floridas all over the place."
Emily Schultheis is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. She covered the presidential primaries as a freshman for her campus newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian. Emily is originally from Moraga, Calif., a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Editor's Note: This is part of a series on registering young voters. Read more.
Many Americans aren't waiting until Nov. 4th to cast their votes - early voting begins soon in many states, and has already started in others.
More than 30 states allow residents to cast their votes early, whether in the form of absentee ballots or in-person early voting, and the number of Americans who vote early is expected to rise significantly this year.
According to St. Joseph's University history professor and political analyst Randall Miller, the early voting process helps students because it allows them to cast votes in their home states through absentee ballots.
He added that because of recent voter registration and education efforts, more voters are aware of their voting options.
One group working to register voters is Declare Yourself - the organization just launched "Why Wait," a program intended to educate people about early voting.
"It's really our chance to get out the vote," said Erika Johannson of Declare Yourself, "not only to register voters, but to make sure their votes count."
The organization's website, www.declareyourself.com/whywait, offers information about early voting rules in each state.
Student groups across the country are also stressing early voting awareness for young people.
Katie Naranjo, the president of the College Democrats of America, said the organization encourages students to vote early when possible.
"On Election Day, lines can be long, students can be busy, the weather can be unpredictable - there are a number of unknowns," she wrote in an e-mail. "Early voting helps ensure that every American has a say in this election."
But while early voting makes participating in the election easier for many people, it complicates the campaign process for the candidates, Miller said.
"If people are voting over a one-month stretch, it could be the latest news items that form someone's opinions," he said. "You don't know when you're going to get that last impact on people - it makes for a different campaign process."
He added that if the election is close - which this year's race may be - the volume of early votes will contribute to a higher level of post-election confusion.
"There are so many people that are going to be participating in alternative ways of voting that it promises to extend the election, and also to confuse the election," he said. "You could get Floridas all over the place."
Emily Schultheis is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. She covered the presidential primaries as a freshman for her campus newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian. Emily is originally from Moraga, Calif., a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Here's the newest video from Declare Yourself, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to mobilizing the youth vote... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57nwnWtW44s Check it out! What do you think??