CU REGISTERS 2,500 VOTERS

Students at CU say they're quite satisfied with the outcome of a
voter-registration drive that ended last week that registered 2,500
students.

"That's 10 percent of the campus," said physics and math major Daniel
McKinnon, 20, who volunteered with the voter registration drive. "We
were really psyched."

Many students say they think that is a strong showing for a mid-term
election year.

About 110 students collected voter registration forms as part of an
effort mobilized by the New Voters Project, a nonpartisan group under
the umbrella of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG).

Those that registered voters said they spoke to many students who are
drawn to the ballot because of important referenda, including
Amendment 43, which if passed would give same-sex couples the same
legal rights that married couples receive.

Amendment 44, which if passed would legalize the possession of an
ounce of marijuana for people age 21 and over in the state, "not
surprisingly motivated a lot of people to vote," McKinnon said.

Boulder's proposed Climate Action Plan tax, which if passed would fund
programs for renewable energy and energy efficiency, is another topic
McKinnon said students frequently asked about.

CU sophomore Erica Joos began volunteering to register voters after
spending time working on the Darfur Project, which aims to help
genocide victims in Sudan.

"Kids were actually much more enthusiastic about it (voting) as I
thought they were going to be," said Joos, an international affairs
and French major.

CU sophomore Hannah Polow said one thing she enjoys about majoring in
political science is being surrounded by people interested in the
upcoming elections.

"It's pretty inspiring," Polow said.

The open seat for Colorado's governorship is also sparking a lot of
interest among students, said CU junior Amy Hogue.

Hogue, the President of the CU Democrats, said about 20 people from
her club volunteered for the nonpartisan voter registration campaign.
They worked side-by-side with members of the CU Republicans, she said.

"I think the bottom line is that we were encouraging active voters,"
said Hogue, a Spanish and communications major. "We put aside out
political differences for that."

Many out-of-state students, especially freshmen, don't know they are
eligible to vote in Colorado, said some volunteers.

"A lot of people in the dorms didn't realize they could vote if they
weren't from Colorado," McKinnon said.

"I know when I was a freshman," agreed Joos, "I didn't hear much about
registering."

Many didn't know the deadline to register to vote was last week,
either.

Kristin Grabarek, director of CU's CoPIRG chapter, said a student
walked into her office after the deadline to register had passed,
asking if there was still any way that she could vote.

Grabarek advised the girl "to call the County Clerk immediately and
try for an absentee ballot."