SECRETARY OF STATE COOK ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO REGISTER TO VOTE

Cape Girardeau Central High School students got a lesson in voting from an expert Tuesday.

Secretary of State Bekki Cook visited the high school to share with some 60 students the importance of voter registration and participation in elections.

Cook was in Cape Girardeau to attend a program at Southeast Missouri State University Tuesday evening. Her stop at the high school was sponsored by Vision 2000. One of the organization's goals is to improve the number of young adults registered to vote in the city."We have a prime opportunity here with the 17 1/2 year olds and 18 year olds to get them registered to vote," said Julia Jorgensen, a Vision 2000 member and the high school librarian. "We feel like if we can get people registered for that first vote, then maybe they'll vote the rest of their lives." Cook encouraged students to take the short amount of time necessary to register and then participate in elections frequently. Students should not be afraid to ask questions, even on the day of an election, because that's why the election workers are there, she said."This is no big deal to fill out," said Cook, waving a voter registration card. "It's nothing you have to be skilled at it's just something you have to do." Cook said young adults are the least represented age group in every election. They say they don't have time to register or vote, or that their vote doesn't count, she said.

She encouraged the students to take note of retirement-age voters, the age group that participates the most in elections."They get a bigger slice of the pie because they vote and they vote their self-interest," she said. "You are almost missing the vote and you are sure missing your share of the opportunities when you don't exercise your right to vote." Representatives from the county clerk's office were on hand at the program, and every eligible student completed a voter registration card.

Students who were more than six months from their 18th birthday could not register. However, cards will be available in the school library so they may register when they become eligible.

Cook said the high number of registrants was unusual at a high school. More often, students believe their vote will not matter and so choose not to register at all. Another reason often given by students is that they are unaware of election issues or the candidates running for office.

Cook encouraged the students to either buy newspapers or read them online to keep up with election issues. She said she also hopes to develop a Web site linked to her office's Web page within the next year that will attract youth."You have a viewpoint and advantage in that you see the future better than most of us my age do," Cook told the students. "I think you bring something to government because you understand the need to keep up."To me, we are missing a really important viewpoint from our youngest voters because your are not voting."