How the “widget” works and how it generates official voter registration forms was discussed by UM's executive officers for the first time at a Monday presentation by Dustin Leftridge, president of UM's student government.
On Election Day, students are one of the most under-represented groups, but the low turnout is not because of apathy, Leftridge said. Students are a transitory population who move often - semester by semester, apartment to apartment - and don't fully understand how to register to vote or how to make the necessary changes on their voter registration card, such as change of residency.
The technology developed by Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, has already helped register about 1 million young people since it became available in July, Leftridge said. If UM were to make it accessible on Cyberbear, it would be the first campus in the country to take such a bold stance in helping young people to vote.
Student government leaders would like to get the technology up and running by April 14, when UM students have two weeks to preregister for fall semester classes.
Although not impossible, having the technology ready to use by then is unlikely, said Ray Ford, associate vice president and chief information technology officer.
Because Cyberbear is produced by a program and not by hand, integrating the widget is a challenge, Ford explained.
“There's no way to get this together in two weeks if we have to monkey with it and with Cyberbear, but we could have it in place by September for the finalization of classes - and by then students have their addresses.”
Of the executive officers, who included UM President George Dennison, Ford had the most questions regarding the technology.
Is the source code for the widget provided so UM's technology experts can probe it to be sure it is not carrying any viruses or other unwanted bugs? he asked.
As voter information is gathered, the widget creates a database of those who have registered, which also caused some concern for Ford. “That raises policy questions of who has access to that list - who gets the data when it's compiled,” he said.
Because voter registration includes private information, such as a voter's Social Security number, questions were asked about how the widget protects such sensitive items.
Leftridge said he believes Rock the Vote allows for each campus to customize the online tool, and said he would research Ford's questions and get some answers.
Provost Royce Engstrom asked if the widget could be implemented in its simplest form by the time students begin registering for fall semester classes.
“It's all about risk - rushing to test this thing online,” Ford said. “If anything went wrong, you have lost a day of registration.”
As the meeting ended, Leftridge assured campus officials he would find answers to their questions, hopefully in the next day or so, and would direct Ford to Rock the Vote's widget experts.
Leftridge then reasserted his opinion on the matter.
“The sooner we can put this in place and see if it works for us - the better,” he said. “We have a primary election in June, and it is the first time we in Montana will have a say in the presidential election.
“Even if we didn't deploy this on the first day of preregistration, we should try to make it work as soon as possible.”
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.
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