Students urged to register to vote

by Denis Flaschner
FOR THE POST

While candidates fill the television and radio airwaves with commercials, argue in debates, and make their final stops on the campaign trail, another issue has taken center stage at Ohio University- getting people in the voting booths.

With Tuesday being the final day to register to vote, students and organizations are making their final push in the effort to get people to exercise their right to vote.

"Voting is a very important right and freedom that everyone should take advantage of," said Kathy Kyle, director of the Board of Elections.

Kyle and other staff members at the Board of Elections have been busy during the past few weeks with last-minute voter registration forms and absentee requests.

Their offices have been open an additional seven hours each week during the last three weeks, and they are running ads in newspapers daily, she said.

"It doesn't take very long to register, all you have to do is fill out the form," she said. "You don't have to have any identification to do it."

Thomas Bubnick, a resident assistant at Shively Hall, said he thinks many OU students are not ambitious enough to vote.

That is why he has offered residents of Shively and Perkins Hall a different option. In addition to posting notes urging residents to vote, Bubnick obtained over one hundred voter registration forms and put one in every mailbox in the two halls.

"Typically, you only have one opportunity to participate in a presidential election as a college student," Bubnick said. "I just wanted to remind everyone to get involved, and make it as easy as possible to do so."

Even though many students are not as involved in the election process, there are still those who feel strongly about their right to vote, and urge others to do the same.

"People my age don't vote because they are too lazy or don't feel they know enough about politics," OU freshman Ryan Hess said. "I vote because I don't want someone else to choose my leaders for me."