Image

Traditionally, college students have had the lowest voter turnout figures of any voting age group. In the 2010 General Election, Washington’s 18-24 voting age group had only a 40.44 percent turnout, compared to the overall turnout of 71.24 percent. Worse, the 18-24 set made up only about 5 percent of the electorate last November.

Even in the historic 2008 General Election, in which Washington voters established a state-record 84.61 percent turnout, the 18-24s had the lowest turnout (68 percent) of all age groups.

So what did Secretary Reed (a very proud and loyal WSU alum) do to help encourage more college-age Washingtonians to register and vote? Why, he did a short, fun video with five University of Washington students…on the UW campus!

Here is a link to that video, which was shot and produced for free by our volunteer summer intern, Cambree Benetua, a journalism studies major who is specializing in broadcasting at Central Washington University.

Reed has e-mailed the video to the presidents of about 50 public and private universities and colleges throughout Washington. Reed is asking the presidents to forward the video to their students. Many institutions have replied enthusiastically to the request.

We’re optimistic that many of the students who view the video will heed the message and register so they can vote in this fall’s General Election. Qualified Washington residents can register online by going here .

If you haven’t registered yet and want to vote in this November’s election, you need to register soon. Oct. 10 is the deadline for online or mail registration, and Oct. 31 is the last day to register in person at your county elections office.