September 30, 2004
Albany- Miss Albany State University Erika Estrada holds up a handful of papers in front of a class full of freshman students Thursday afternoon.
"If you're registering for the first time, you need to fill out the entire form," she tells the class. "It's a very quick and simple process."
Voter registration her platform, so she jumped on the issue by registering students to vote.
"I saw the apathy here on our campus and I thought this was a great year to bring this issue to light."
Her work is paying off. Since the July primary, more than 2,000 new voters have registered in Dougherty County and many of those have been ASU students. But just because someone's registered doesn't mean they'll show up at the polls.
So some politically active students help her highlight issues that effect everyone in the room.
"Education, the war on terror and the economy," Martin Wells, president of ASU's Young Democrats, said to the group.
"And that's why it becomes important to know each candidate and how they feel about different issues," he said.
"If you want your issues spoken about, you have to go out there and make the first step," said Robert Williams, president of ASU's NAACP chapter. "Everything that happens is going to happen to everybody whether you're active or not and the only chance you have at making a difference is if you open up your mouth and vote."
A vote that's important as Georgians and as Americans.
"Every election is important and our voices need to be heard," Estrada said.
And she hopes her voice and her platform is a springboard that helps these students become lifetime voters.
posted at 10:52 p.m. by brannon.stewart@walb.com
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