Yet in the 36 years since the amendment was ratified, not all of the nation's youngest eligible voters have taken advantage of their constitutionally guaranteed right. In fact, during the last presidential election, fewer than half of them did.
In 2004, only about 47 percent of eligible U.S. citizens ages 18 to 24 turned out to vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's hardly a surprise, given that fewer than 58 percent of them were even registered. What is somewhat surprising is that this actually represented an 11 percent increase in turnout over the previous national election.
And that's why we were delighted to learn that top executives at the University of Montana are considering combining voter registration with class registration. As presented by Associated Students for the University of Montana president Dustin Leftridge, the general idea is to add a voter registration form to the university's Cyberbear system using a free “widget” from Rock the Vote, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people vote.
While UM's chief information technology officer, Ray Ford, had some concerns about making the two programs fit together, we hope the kinks can be smoothed out fairly quickly. It would be wonderful if this program could be in place, if not in time for the June 3 primary, then at least in time for the November elections.
We have noticed an unprecedented amount of interest in the coming elections at the national level, certainly, but also at the state and local levels. More than 300 candidates are vying for 125 open seats in the next Montana Legislature, for instance, and the sheer number of choices seems to be energizing potential voters.
Here in Montana, we have a proud history of making a strong showing at the polls. The Treasure State regularly ranks among the highest in the nation when it comes to voter turnout for national elections. In fact, during the 2004 elections, we boasted the eighth-highest voting rate, with slightly more than 70 percent of the state's eligible residents casting their votes - a total of about 481,000 Montanans.
But in order to vote you have to be registered, and that's why ready access to registration information is critical. If UM does decide to become the first university in the U.S. to link voter and class registration, it would be doing our youngest voters a great service.
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