Election motivates some to register

Special to The Gazette

Local residents registered to vote, picked up absentee ballot applications and learned about Maryland's new touch-screen voting system at a voter registration drive at the Damascus Library Saturday.

Damascus resident Bryan Cockrell came to the library to complete a freshman orientation project for Princeton University, where he will enroll this fall. On his way out, he stopped by the registration table.

"I didn't realize they had this right here," he said. "I was going to go down to the Board of Elections to pick up an absentee ballot application."

Cockrell said he intends to vote for Democratic challenger John F. Kerry.

"I just think it's time for a change," he said.

Three minutes later, another first-time voter had a decidedly different view.

"I want to register so I can help George Bush win," Damascus resident Eric Simpson said as he dropped off his voter registration form.

He and his brother Adam also picked up absentee ballot applications, since they will be away at college in November.

The volunteers were pleased with the turnout. After four hours, they had collected 11 voter registration forms and five change of address forms. They also handed out many absentee ballot applications and informational brochures.

Volunteer June Malina, a resident of Germantown and a member of the League of Women Voters, said that most library patrons seemed to welcome the presence of the registration drive.

"Many people came out with other questions as they were leaving the library," she said.

Malina approached library patrons as they entered the lobby.

"Are you registered to vote?" she asked. "Is your address up to date?"

Malina joked that her role entailed "hustling," but called the volunteer work "very rewarding."

"This is absolutely the best country in the world," she said, contrasting America's freedoms to countries she has visited. "It's democracy at work."

The volunteers reminded library patrons that the presidential election takes place in less than three months on Nov. 2.

"Remember to vote!" volunteer Yen Chen told several passersby.

Chen and her brother Ming, both residents of Gaithersburg, have volunteered at several voter registration sites recently, on behalf of the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center. She said the level of interest in Damascus seemed high.

"I don't remember so many people asking for absentee ballots in other communities," she said.

Frank Stodolsky brought his daughter Sarah to the library to register and pick up an absentee ballot application. She will be at Virginia Tech in the fall.

"It's a good chance to do this -- it's so local and convenient," he said.

The voter registration drives are being held at libraries and other sites across the county though October. They have been organized by the Multicultural Voter Empowerment Committee of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Members of several community organizations are participating.

Mary Lanigan of the League of Women Voters said concern about the low number of voters motivated her to volunteer.

"I was listening to some program on television last week -- I think they were talking about Afghanistan -- and they said that 90 percent of the people are registered to vote," she recalled. "I was amazed."

According to the Federal Election Commission, 76 percent of the country's 206 million people who were of voting age were registered to vote in the November 2000 presidential election. Of those registered, about two-thirds of them actually voted in the election -- which means just over half of the country's eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2000 general election.

Lanigan joked that more young people would rather vote for an "American Idol" contestant than vote for the next president.

"Maybe people here have forgotten what the right to vote means," she said. "But I do think that for this election, a lot of people are interested and mobilized."

Volunteers also demonstrated Maryland's new touch-screen voting system to interested library patrons.

"This is so easy," Laytonsville resident Lynne Bray told Ming Chen several times. "I think it's much simpler than the old way."

Several people came to the library specifically to turn in their paperwork. Roz Phillips, of Germantown, brought her son Ricky to register. She said she has encouraged each of her four children to vote.

"When they each turned 18, we had them register right away," Phillips said.

She summed up the importance of voting in three words: "It's our duty."