College civics on the lunch hour

The conversation was old hat Friday when Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed stopped by the Penguin Union Lounge during lunch to talk about civics and the future as part of his annual weeklong civics blitz.

For the few dozen audience members who populated one of the last stops on Reed's 24-campus tour, most claimed to already be civically active when Reed asked for a show of hands. Prompting the Secretary to ask for help, rather than make his case.

"I'm here today to say, hey I need your help. I realize those of you who came are self selected and probably already registered," Reed said. "So, we need your help to reach out to your peers here at Clark college."

Given that 44 percent of 18 to 24-year olds voted in 2008, according to the Census Bureau, Reed asked the audience to share their civic participation with others on campus and in the community in hopes of raising that percentage.

Secretary Reed was nearly 45 minutes late to Clark after speaking at Lower Columbia College earlier in the day, allowing ASCC officers to make their own civics pitch while the audience waited.

"We encourage you to encourage others to vote," ASCC Vice President Hana Lim told the room. "Our voter turnout is sad."

According to Lim, the 2008 ASCC elections attracted 200 voters and the 2009 elections attracted 600. This year's ASCC is hoping for over 2,000 votes to be cast, with a Rock the Vote style event in the works to help achieve the goal.

Reed's visit was not aimed specifically at campus elections, but Lim said it couldn't hurt.

"I don't think Reed will impact ASCC elections, but it might because he's here to talk about voter turnout," Lim said. "It will at least affect the people in this room."

The reason for Reed's visit, other than promoting voting in general, was to outline Washington as the best system in the country in terms of getting young people involved in the electoral process, according to the secretary. A system based heavily in technology.

Reed said Washington is the second state in the nation, after Arizona, to offer online voter registration. The system requires potential voters to hold a Washington identification card or driver's license. Soon after completing the online registration, the voter is mailed a voter registration card from their county elections office.

"Since young people are used to dealing with things online, it has been very successful," Reed said of the program.

Another online service offered by the state informs voters of the issues and candidates up for election. A solution, Reed said, to people not voting because they don't know about the election.

"We have the best system in the nation in terms of telling you whom you can vote for and who represents you," Reed said.

The "My Vote" system, available at vote.wa.gov, requires voters to enter their name and birth date to access a list of specific offices and issues up for election. The site also provides online voter pamphlets specific to each voter.

Reed also advocated for Washington's vote by mail system as a positive feature for young voters.

"There used to be a problem that young people don't vote because they are so mobile," Reed said. But now that all Washington elections are vote by mail, Reed said mobility is no longer an issue.

Also in attendance Friday, were Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey and Clark College President Bob Knight. They joined students who mostly came as part of a class and snacked on fruit and mini-muffins provided by ASCC.

Kimsey pointed out the importance of elections to college students because of the direct impact on education funding, and President Knight agreed.

"You want to figure out which candidate this fall might be more supportive of your interests and you concerns," Kimsey said. "I would encourage you to attain information."

Reed also encouraged people to be engaged in the fall elections, citing the excitement of an open 3rd congressional district seat, and the potentially high profile re-election campaign of Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

During his weeklong civics tour, Reed said student engagement stood out this year compared to previous tours.

"It struck me this year, after having done these four previous years, is how serious all of the students are about this whole area of elections and what's going on legislatively," Reed said. "I think it's because of the budget cuts and because of the impact on tuition and student aid."

Overall, Reed said he is impressed by how much more students are involved in their communities compared to past generations. He said that often times they are required to be involved, but then find out they like it and continue their community activity.

"It is a very engaged generation," Reed said. "That is something I really admire."