While University students, along with the rest of the country, spent their summers following the campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, Champaign county clerk Mark Shelden and his office staff spent the summer making preparations for Election Day.

With the return of thousands of students to campus, Shelden’s office faces the task of processing voter registration for students eager to participate in the November election.

“We are now implementing new voter registration systems that we hope will expedite the process,” Shelden said. “We’re trying to do things now that will get us ahead of the game.”

He said typically the number of people registering to vote begins to increase as students return to campus in August and continues to build up momentum from there.

October 7 is the last day possible for people to register if they plan to vote on Election Day – November 4 – Shelden said.

Despite the high publicity of this election, Shelden said his office has not seen a noticeable jump in the number of registered voters, a trend that would indicate above-normal enthusiasm for this year’s election.

If there is going to be a profound increase in registered voters, it should become apparent after students are moved in, Shelden said.

He also said that voter registration numbers are not always the best way to assess the public’s emotions toward an election.

“Quite frankly, voter registration doesn’t matter,” Shelden said. “We care more about who actually comes out to vote, and we won’t know that until Election Day.”

Students can register to vote by following the instructions on the Champaign county clerk’s Web site, however, most will find it easier to take advantage of the voter registration opportunities available to them on campus.

Political organizations such as the College Democrats and the College Republicans have been making plans to facilitate the voter registration for University students.

“We plan to make registering to vote as easy as possible,” said Eric Preston, president of College Democrats. “In addition to registering students to vote on Quad Day, we will also have a registration table on the Quad daily.”

College Republicans will also have a table at Quad Day giving students the opportunity to register, said Bobby McNeily, president of the organization.

“The CRs are encouraging students to register, and vote, by offering them an inside look on how the political area works here in Urbana-Champaign,” McNeily said.

Students can register to vote in Champaign “so long as they have a bed here,” Shelden said.

He said he sees about 50 percent of students registering in Champaign and about 50 percent registering in their own precincts at home.

McNeily and Preston still expect to have high numbers of students registering to vote.

“Voting is the best way for students to show their opinions,” Preston said. “When students stay home they are saying they don’t care about what happens and elected officials see that lack of interest.”