Michelle Obama encourages UNL students to vote

Michelle Obama wants America's youth to register to vote.

In a telephone press conference, reporters from university and college newspapers around the country were able to dial in and speak with the wife of the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.

"We need more young people to get involved," she said. "The choice that America makes on November 4th will have enormous consequences."

Young voters need to have their voices heard, she said. They need to declare their values and priorities now.

In the past, too many young voters have decided to remain silent, she said, adding that in the 2004 election, 20 percent of recently registered voters stayed home on Election Day.

Because of that number, many campaigns haven't bothered to take the youth voice seriously.

But the Obama campaign is taking steps to close that gap, she said. Obama recommended young people visit www.voteforchange.com.

"This is a one-stop resource for voter registration," she said.

On the Web site, students can register to vote, find out if they are registered to vote, request to vote absentee and find out where to go to vote.

Visiting the Web site and getting information should only take about three minutes, according to the site.

"We need folks to register to vote," Obama said. "Young people have already made a huge difference."

Young people have also made a difference on Obama's campaign. When asked about the presence of young voters and campaign workers in Nebraska, Obama said the campaign has many young people working for it all over the country.

"We have a lot of young people who work for the campaign and I don't think that's intentional, but it's not completely accidental," she said. "We have offices open in almost every state, and Nebraska is no different.

"Young people have really found their voice in this campaign," Obama continued. "Many young people have left their schools, their jobs; they're sleeping on floors and traveling around the country for 19 months. They know what's at stake, you may be seeing that in Nebraska as well."

jamieklein@dailynebraskan.com