Two weeks after Gov. Rod Blagojevich named Nick Klitzing, junior in LAS, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees voting student representative, Klitzing is adding to his workload by sponsoring a voter registration forum.

“Mark Shelden, the county clerk, talked to me about having a voter registration forum,” Klitzing said in a telephone interview. “I told him that I would be happy to help out. It’s not necessarily a part of my job on the board, but it’s a great idea and with my resources on campus, I knew I could help.”

The forum is scheduled for Wednesday in the Natural History building room 229 at 7:00 p.m. The forum is designed to provide information to students so they can register to vote.

Mark Shelden, Champaign County Clerk, will present information and answer questions.

“I am going to talk a little bit about our office, the new voting equipment, voter registration,” Shelden said in a telephone interview. “The main idea is for people who have questions or concerns about what we’re doing in our office to have the chance to ask me directly. I believe maintaining open communication is important.”

Co-president of student government Ryan Ruzic, junior in LAS, encourages students to attend the forum.

“If you don’t register correctly then you don’t get to vote,” Ruzic said in a telephone interview. “Students should pay attention and register correctly. If you mess up something in the registration form, you won’t know till election time when you get to the polls to find out you can’t vote.”

Addressing proper registration, the need for students to participate in the overall voting process will also be stressed.

“It’s really important for students to vote, whether it is here on campus or through absentees,” Klitzing said. “It’s vital to use your voice and to voice your opinion. Especially here on campus with such a huge presence of politics and government.”

Ruzic emphasized the impact University students can have on local politics.

“Students make about a 1/3 of Champaign-Urbana’s population,” Ruzic said. “With that number, we’re a tremendous voting block that can make a massive difference. There are many issues such as parking enforcements that directly affect our college campus. We need to get as much of us registered and voted because we could be a strong political force. But a lot of students don’t care to register and don’t care to vote.”

With the overall decline of political interest and the decrease in the number of voters, Ruzic commented on many influencing factors.

Lacking a connection with the Champaign community, Ruzic believes students see Champaign as a temporary home.

“Voter apathy has also developed among young voters because they don’t see the tangible results from voting,” Ruzic said. “They don’t believe that different people elected to office will treat them differently. The local population views the campus’ students as a temporary population too; therefore, they don’t feel the need to focus on us.”

Shelden agrees and understands the lack of voter enthusiasm and participation.

“I think voting increases as people become aware of the impact the government has on their lives,” Shelden said. “A lot of students don’t see or sense the government’s impact on their lives. As they get older, get a job, pay taxes, have kids going to school, you become more invested in the community you live in. Then the election process becomes more important to you. Unfortunately some students just don’t understand how important voting is.”

Staying up to date with voting regulations is important to insure voter accuracy.

“All students, me included, can be uninformed on what you need to do to register and the deadlines,” Klitzing said. “With so much going on, we can forget about registering early. It’s important to have this forum so students can learn facts. Come November, students always show up to the polls who didn’t register before hand.”

Ruzic feels that no matter the political views, participation is important.

“Most student issues are not partisan issues,” Ruzic said. “Wanting to have lower parking fines is not a republican or democrat issue. Having land lords take responsibility for how apartments are kept is not a republican or democrat issue.”

More than a year away from the next November election, Klitzing believes the sooner they spread the word, the better.

“People aren’t worried about it now, but it’s better to register now even if it’s this early,” Klitzing said. “We’re having the forum this early, in the fall so that students are able to vote for the primary in March.”

Klitzing plans to organize more forums.

“After March, we are planning to have another forum so students will be informed about registering for the November election,” Klitzing said. “The follow up forums in the spring and fall are just opportunities for students to learn more and ask questions.”