Be Heard—Register and Vote

September 23, 2004

Dear Rutgers Students:

On November 2, citizens across the United States will vote to elect the next president as well as many state and local leaders. Rutgers students are nationally recognized for their civic engagement. In keeping with our participatory traditions, I strongly encourage all of you who are eligible to register and to vote.

The deadline to register to vote in this election in New Jersey is October 4, 2004. If you are a citizen of the United States and will be 18 years of age before November 2, 2004, you are eligible to register for this election. The RU Voting Coalition, a partnership of student groups and nonpartisan civic organizations, has set a goal of registering 20,004 Rutgers students for the upcoming election. If we work together, I am confident Rutgers students can meet that target.

A web site at http://vote.rutgers.edu provides all the information you need to register and to vote. You can use the website to download voter registration forms for New Jersey or other states, access absentee ballots, identify polling locations near our campuses, and answer your questions about the electoral process. You can return completed registration forms and absentee ballot requests to one of the following campus locations if you do so by October 1, 2004:

Camden and Newark Campuses:
* NJPIRG offices

New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus:
* Campus Center Welcome/Information desks
* Residence Life Staff
* Student Governing Associations
* NJPIRG offices
* Rutgers University Student Legal Information Services
* Eagleton Institute of Politics Student Voting Office 2nd Floor

For further information on the RU Voting Coalition, contact Beth Logan at 732/932-9384 ext. 256, or via email. College students are traditionally under-represented on election day. Do not allow this important moment in history to pass without your voice being heard. I urge you to register and vote.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey