Rock the Vote
The National Union of Students has made registering on the electoral roll easier than ever with their latest national campaign, Rock the Vote. In response to the poor show at the ballot box during the 1992 general election the Union has embarked on a nation-wide campaign to encourage students to register to vote before it is too late. With the co-operation of local councils they are distributing free postcards which, when completed and returned by students, will automatically register them to vote.
With one in five 18-25 year olds not registered on the electoral roll the NUS is concerned that student issues will be overlooked by politicians. "If students and young people are not registered to vote then politicians aren't going to set a political agenda by them", said Dave Newton, VP (Communications) at Sussex, "they're simply going to ignore them and concentrate on the voters they have got. If students want to put their views on the agenda they have to register themselves, it's as simple as that."
With the majority of first years automatically registered by living in University-managed accommodation, second years and finalists are the prime targets of the campaign. In the last general election over 2.5 million under 25s failed to vote. The NUS fears that this can be attributed to a mistaken belief that the electoral roll can be used for tax collecting purposes. Because of this a significant part of the campaign has been devoted to rectifying such misconceptions.
The local campaign was launched in Brighton at the end of last term with a Rock the Vote Night taking the message to night-clubs and bars throughout Brighton, and resulting in over 300 people registering. The Union is delighted with its success and are planning to follow through with a further campaign encouraging people who have already registered to actually use their vote.