New Voters Project interns and volunteers gathered on Library Mall Tuesday to promote local elections and to \institutionalize youth nationwide"" to vote in November's presidential election. NVP had students fill out ""pledge cards"" declaring their intention to vote in November.
Established in January, the New Voters Project aspires to increase the young vote 5 percent nationally and increase UW-Madison student votes to 17,000.
Erica Garry, NVP campus organizer, said UW-Madison traditionally has high voter turnouts but added there is ""room for growth.""
""The problem is that youth has [yielded] a low vote historically,"" said Allie Gubin, media and public relations intern for NVP.
She added because of low youth voter turnout, politicians often ignore issues of education and environment.
She added the group is non-partisan.
""[We're] not pushing anybody,"" said Kevin Benish, NVP director of recruitment. ""Our main goal is to get the voices of the students heard.""
Sasha Ingber, a UW-Madison sophomore who pledged to vote in November, said she thinks the NVP is a good idea.
She added it is important to get young people in Madison interested in politics, especially to get Bush out of office.
Ben Tolkan, NVP intern and UW-Madison junior, said the nonpartisan angle has been beneficial in Tuesday's outreach because it did not create animosity from students passing by.
Garry said being a ""young, colored female"" sparked her to join the group. She added she was pleased to estimate a few hundred people had pledged to vote Tuesday.
NVP plans to use the pledge cards to call people to remind them to vote and to e-mail them in the future. Also, pledge cards are used to recruit interns and volunteers.
Garry said not only is NVP reaching out to UW-Madison students, they are also reaching out to young people at Edgewood College and LaCrosse, Milwaukee and Dane County high schools.
NVP is working with high school administrators and student council members to advocate voting.
""We are kind of creating a legacy,"" Garry said.
Tolkan said he believes the group is well on their way to reaching their goals.
The NVP will be at future events such as the All Campus Party, the hip-hop concert and Student Orientation, Advising and Registration.
Ingber said she hopes the NVP will continue to have a presence on campus because students may forget about the group and should be reminded to vote in November.
