Campus
offers right to vote
By Jill Thomsen
On-line Forty-Niner
 Students
have 12 days left to register to vote in
California’s Nov. 5 general election. To
help make the process easier for students
the Associated Students Inc. organized a
voter registration drive which took place
Wednesday and today on Friendship Walk at
Cal State Long Beach on North Campus.
Representatives from various political parties,
propositions and congressional candidates
were on campus to register voters and answer
any questions students might have about
issues or party platforms.
Proposition 52 will allow same-day voter
registration that O’Brien says would increase
student participation in the voting process
by 13 percent, said Proposition 52 representative
Erin O’Brien.
“It’s really important that young people
get involved, it doesn’t matter what they
might believe in, the youth voice needs
to be heard and represented,” O’Brien said.
Two other propositions on the ballot will
also directly impact students at CSULB.
Proposition 46, the Housing and Emergency
Shelter Act of 2002, includes $15 million
for student housing within the University
of California and California State University
systems. Proposition 47, the Kindergarten-University
Public Education Facilities Bond Act of
2002, will provide the campus with around
$23.6 million if passed.
The ballot measures would allow students
to participate in direct democracy, said
Jade Wallis, A.S.I. secretary of intergovernmental
relations. “It is not a representative,
this is voters making the choices.”
The registration drive represented Republican,
Democratic, Libertarian, Natural Law, Green
and other third parties.
Orange County Natural Law party coordinator
Jane Bock said being at CSULB and talking
to students is important to “letting people
know we’re around. Although third parties
don’t get elected, they bring up issues
that the other people don’t want to talk
about.”
Undeclared freshman Bryan Morales registered
to vote for the first time on Wednesday.
Morales turned 18 in December and is excited
about the prospect of being a poll worker
on election day.
“I was in the library trying to get the
forms but then I saw these tables and thought
why not do it here?” Morales said.
The drive is “really an effort to get out
the vote and let students know there is
a tight election coming up,” said Democratic
party representative Nicole Martinez.
Martinez said that a lot of students just
aren’t interested in voting and are “very
complacent about the process.”
Political science junior Jordan Markwith
reregistered to vote at the drive when one
of his professors told students the deadline
was coming up and that people were at Friendship
Walk.
Wallis, who organized the event, said by
having more than just the two dominant parties
present she hoped students would have a
chance to see what is out there.
Libertarian candidate for Congress Herb
Peters echoed the sentiment and said he
hoped his table would provide exposure for
his candidacy and the party.
“As far as I see it, if you don’t vote,
you don’t have the right to complain,” Wallis
said.
The deadline to register to vote for the
Nov. 5 general election is Oct. 21.
Registration and election information can
be found online at rockthevote.org
or calvoter.org.
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