Florida A&M University student Carlton Worthen, host of television show “Carlton Worthen Presents,” along with the Hatchett Pre-law Society, sponsored a seminar titled “Make Your Vote Count 2004” Wednesday in the Perry Paige auditorium.
Student organizations across campus have been holding seminars in an effort to get students mobilized to the polls.
“The idea to have the event came from me realizing people need to get out and vote,” said Worthen, a senior political science student from Tallahassee.
He added that he does not try to sway people to vote one way or another but would rather try to make sure people research the candidates, make their votes count and their voices heard.
“I’m sensing there will be an increase in voter turnout during this election among young voters,” said Florida state representative Curtis Richardson. Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho said 24 percent of registered voters in Leon County have already voted. Voter registration has also increased dramatically, and Leon County has 11,000 new voters, most of them college age.
“You (young voters) are that sleeping giant that has been awakened now,” Richardson said.
Whether or not the media polls had anything to do with how the election would actually turn out was brought into question.
Sancho added that registration among young voters ages 18 to 24 is at an all time high and pollsters only poll repeat voters.
FAMU has gotten a lot of attention during this election with speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Sen. John Edwards both visiting campus, Roosevelt Wilson, publisher of the Capital Outlook noted.
“George Bush won by 537 votes in Florida. Two thousand voters did not vote in the Grand Ballroom during the 2000 election,” Wilson said. “FAMU could have changed the election.”
Contact Dana Vaughn at d_n_vaughn@yahoo.com.