It started as Tufts 1200, when three freshmen set themselves a goal of registering 1,200 students to vote last year - a quarter of Tufts' student body. Today it is Tufts Votes, a non-partisan organization affiliated with more than nine student groups, including the Tufts Democrats and Tufts Republicans.
Since its humble beginnings last year, the group has received funding from the University College of Citizenship and Public Service and has combined its efforts with other groups such as Democracy Matters.
"There are a lot of registered voters out there that don't know what to do after that first step. We are hoping to mobilize them all. We are hoping to streamline not just registration on campus but voting too," said sophomore Dan Grant, one of the founders of Tufts Votes. "When students see a Tufts Votes sign they know that that's where they need to go, that they have that one contact number they need," he said.
The group's new mission statement reflects this attitude: "A coalition of student groups dedicated to the education, registration, and mobilization of all eligible voters in the Tufts community."
A Kennedy School of Government study published in June 2003 found that 59 percent of college students said they would "definitely be voting" in the 2004 election and 27 percent said they would "probably" vote.
But according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 36 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the 2000 presidential election, the lowest turnout of any age group.
The Census Bureau said this may be due to the fact that young adults - especially those in their 20s - are the most transient and must re-register to vote after each move, leading to lower registration and voting levels.
This low voter turnout "shows in the focus of politicians and it shows in who they represent and who they don't represent. That won't ever change until we become a large united voting block," said sophomore Kayt Norris, who participates in Tufts Vote through the University College.
Tufts Votes hopes to change these low youth voting levels this year.
The new group has planned a number of events running up until the critical date: Nov. 2, Election Day. One such event is Dorm Storms, which starts in three dorms tonight. Group members will eventually visit every dorm on campus with voter registration forms for every resident.
A voter registration training session was held yesterday where 62 undergraduates volunteered to be "voter registration ambassadors," according to Grant.
Tufts Votes will also host Dewick Debates and Carmichael Crossfire, which Grant says will provide "a chance for dinnertime discussion about politics to get people interested."
The group will also offer viewings of the presidential debates and the Emmy-winning "fake news" broadcast,
"The Daily Show."
Senior Mary Smith has been working on registering voters since she first arrived at Tufts more than three years ago. "[It's important for me to] combine the many parts of student life; learning and active citizenship are so important to our lives as students," she said.
Smith helped arrange freshman orientation this year so that every incoming freshman received a voter registration form, fulfilling a goal Tufts 1200 had set last year.
In comparison, Harvard has a 100 percent voter registration rate thanks to registering students at freshmen orientation, Grant told the Daily last spring. "My goal is to have a 100 percent registration rate here at Tufts in four years by focusing on freshmen," he said in May.
Junior Michael Lingenfelter is so excited to vote in November's elections that he is planning to host a concert on election night or the day before. "The right to vote is just awesome. There are so many people that are voting for the first time, we want to get them to not just register but to go out and vote and be happy that they did," he said.
