Ledger

Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Campus News

Secretary of State Reed speaks in the GWP atrium.

If college students are interested in making a difference, Sam Reed has a simple suggestion: Get our there and vote. Reed, Washington's secretary of state, visited the University of Washington Tacoma's campus April 14, encouraging students to vote in the upcoming state gubernatorial and presidential elections.

The visit was one of 28 stops on Reed's "Get Out the Youth Vote" campaign, which took place over the course of the April 14-18 week.

Colleges on the campaign trail included Green River Community College, Pierce Community College, Washington State University, and Western Washington University. Each college planned its own activities for 45 minute event, ranging from pancake feeds, to classroom visits, to a game show titled "Are You Smarter Than Sam Reed?"

The Associated Students of UWT, in association with the UWT chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, organized a more straightforward event, beginning with students mingling with Reed and followed by a speech and question and answer session.
"What an exciting year this is going to be," Reed said. "We have the most wide open presidential election in years since 1952."

Reed encouraged attendees to participate in both the presidential election and Washington's state gubernatorial election. He discounted the myth that a small number of votes cannot decide an election, citing the 2004 Washington state's governor race, which was decided by 133 votes.

"Could their possibly be 133 students who aren't ready to vote, aren't registered to vote?" Reed asked attendees in a speech given from the George Washington Parks Atrium stairs. "I defy you to visit any college campus and find 133 students who can't be convinced to vote."

The characteristically low turnout of the youth demographic in elections is a well-known and well-cited statistic, according to Reed.

But he expressed encouragement at increasing numbers of youth turnout in recent years. Between the elections years of 2000 and 2004, the percentage of Washington state 18 - 24 year olds who participated in the gubernatorial election increased from 49 percent to 67 percent, according to Reed.
Reed expects those numbers to increase in 2008 for an election year fraught with issues including the war in Iraq, health care, environmental and economic concerns.

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