ELIGIBLE VOTERS SHOULD REGISTER NOW FOR NOV. 3

In the midst of an aggressive effort to boost the state voter registration rolls to a record 3 million voters by the Nov. 3 election, every opportunity is available to those who are not registered to vote to do so.

The opportunity particularly presents itself to unregistered voters in Cape Girardeau County. County clerk Rodney Miller is conducting voter registration drives through a Registration Outreach effort in which deputy clerks go to factories, stores, public events, schools and churches so that people may register.

Miller expected at least 300 people to register last week at a voter registration booth at the SEMO District Fair. As many as 2,000 voters could be added to the county's rolls between the August primary and the registration deadline of Oct. 14, he said. That would bring the county's total number of registered voters to 36,000. At last count, the county had 32,005 registered voters.

Missouri Secretary of State Roy Blunt traveled the state Thursday to drum up support for voter registration drives under way in most counties. He sees the possibility of a 10 percent increase statewide in the number of registered voters since 1990, when Missouri had 2.7 million registered voters.

Blunt has done much during his two terms as secretary of state to make it easier to register to vote. At his urging, the deadline for registration was moved from 28 days before an election to 20 days, a sensible change since voter interest is highest right before an election.

Blunt has said consideration should be given to moving the deadline even closer to the election date. Because voter interest is highest then, more people surely would register as an election approaches. When the deadline passes, many, we're sure, intend to register after the election, but for various reasons don't.

This year's general election will be one of the most interesting in state history. Term limits, a record number of constitutional amendments, and the names of George Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot are all on the ballot. A large turnout is likely.

Nevertheless, voter apathy continues to be a problem. Even if the goal of 3 million registered voters is met, only one-fourth of the state's voting-age population would be registered. That's a sad commentary, particularly in an election year with so many important decisions to be made.

If you are of voting age and are not registered, we urge you to do so. To register, stop by the county clerk's office in the county Administrative Building at Jackson or in the Common Pleas Courthouse Annex in Cape Girardeau.

You have the right to participate in the many decisions that will be made on Nov. 3. Use that right.