OUR VIEW: Monday is last day to register to vote

You may have put it off to the last minute, but it’s still not too late to register to vote. Monday, Oct. 25, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Cache County Clerks Office, in-person voter registrations will be accepted – all citizens need is a drivers license or state identification number. Located at 179 North on Main Street, the process takes all of five minutes and will mean the difference from being heard or allowing your voice to be ignored.

We encourage all students who have not registered to vote to run, not walk, to the clerk’s office to register. Do whatever is necessary to get there before the doors close at 5 p.m. – skip your lunch break, forego your primo parking space to stop by between classes or sacrifice the nap you usually take in the library.

Utah State University students have the opportunity to make a difference with their votes this year, but they have to be registered first. Critics claim students are apathetic. Of 24 million 18-24 year olds who were eligible to vote in 2000, only 36 percent did. It is possible that students don’t care, but maybe it’s just because they didn’t register on time.

This year, with races so close, every voice will count, and not just on the national level. Many state and congressional races are much tighter than has been seen in previous years. Important and controversial initiatives and amendments are on the ballot this year and are making student votes all the more critical.

The impact the decisions made on Nov. 2 will have may be farther reaching than some think.

After all, the next time a presidential election comes around, most of us will have graduated and will be living in the “real world” we’ve created for ourselves through our vote, or lack thereof, next Tuesday.