Page 6 -The Michigan Daily -Weekend etc. - October 1, 1992

MOLLY STEVENS/Daily
~ ~ '~TH ERE IS NO EXCUSE Text by Hope Calati.
" E G U S TIE R Graphic by
A N DAndrew Levy.
A.A..The presidential race is expected to go down to the wire. Students are expected to be
,'~~A//crucial to deciding the next president - if they register and vote.
Students have six days to register and vote around campus and around the city.
Students who vote can affect the election, said Michigan Researchers Associates President
Bernie Porn. Students are a block of "surge voters" who participate in presidential years.
MICHELLE GUY/DaIty Presidential elections increase voter turnout up to 60 percent, Porn said, and most of these
voters are under 40 years old.
The igh of itiensof te U ite Staeswhoare igheenMake your voice heard - register and vote.
e iRock the Vote Account Executive Annie Shapiro said, "When you are not registered to
years of age or older, to vote shall not be abridged by the United vote, your voice is diminished."
Sa C"I think it's important for students to have a voice. Either way, at least they're voting" said
Stats o byanyStae onaccuntof ge-Wherehouse Records Assistant Manager Rob Sunseri, who is working with Rock the Vote on
- the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the Wherehouse Records voter registration drive.
The number of young people vointg since the voting age was reduced to
18 in 1972 has decreased.
T Younger voters have not been taking advantage of their right.
.................................................Deputy Washtenaw County Clerk Dan Byrne said student precincts gen-
eraily register a lower turnout than other Ann Arbor precincts. In the 1988
presidential election, he estimated 40 percent of students voted compared
T with 63 percent for Ann Arbor as a whole.
Nationwide, only 33 percent of 18- to 20-year-olds have registered and
voted in the last presidential election.
This number is down from 38 percent when 18-year-olds received the
franchise.
Although citizens with one to three years of college have a higher
turnout, the numbers are falling. Sixty-four percent of these citizens voted in
the 1988 presidential election, down from 68 percent in 1976.
College Republicans President John Petz said, "If (the students) ever get
out and vote, it could be very important."
He stressed the importance of student votes in local elections. "If you
can get them to vote, they can clearly make the difference in the Statehouse,
county commission, (in the congressional race between state Sen.) Bob
Geake and (U.S. Rep.) Bill Ford."
College Democrats Co-Chair Dan Friedenzohn agreed that students can
make the difference on all levels. "A lot of students think this election is
just about Clinton-Gore, but it's about getting Democrats elected. Ford is a
very powerful man," Friedenzohn said.
"In a year like this, turnout is all important. Young people are an impor-
tant part of this coalition," said Ethan Zindler frrom the Clinton-Gore
campaig~n.
SHARON MUSH EA/Dait-
T1p Left: LSA senior Scott Berman rouses potential student
voters on the Diag.