Hundreds of UC San Diego
Students Register to Vote,
Number of Polling Locations Doubles

September 26, 2008

By Christine Clark

With the shaky economy looming as UC San Diego students returned to the first day of fall quarter classes on Sept. 25, nearly 1,700 freshmen had registered to vote. The San Diego County Registrar of Voters, working with the university’s Office of Student Affairs, has agreed to double the number of campus polling locations from three to six for the Nov. 4 election.

The deadline to register voters in California for the upcoming election is Oct. 20, and UC San Diego student volunteers, who registered 1,699 freshmen in three days leading up to the first day of classes, plan to register more than 4,000 freshmen by the deadline.

“Voter registration is critical in a healthy democracy and it’s essential that we encourage students to be a part of the political process,” said Penny Rue, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. “Our students want to make an impact on the world and we support them during this election year.”

The Welcome Week non-partisan voter-registration effort was spearheaded by Lisa Chen, the Associated Students’ vice president of external affairs. “My work is part of a statewide coalition to build student power on our campus and to get students involved in the political process,” Chen said.

Chen, a senior majoring in International Studies, said her goal is to register some 4,000 new voters at UC San Diego before Oct. 20.  From Oct. 13 to 20, she and other student volunteers will have a “voter week of action” where they will register as many students as possible at various campus events. Chen and her colleagues worked with the San Diego County Registrar’s Office to create a student registration website.

On Election Day, the campus polling locations will be near each of the university’s six colleges, the RIMAC Arena, Mesa Apartments, and the Price Center.

Media Contact: Christine Clark, 858-534-7618