Thousands of University students will make their voices heard for the first time in November, and most have the efforts of University student organizations to thank.

Since last spring, a gaggle of groups have done their part to enfranchise fellow students with voter registration drives held all around town. Those who registered by the Oct. 4 deadline have joined the ranks of a record number of new Ohio voters — close to 800,000 according to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.

Some organizations, like the College Democrats and Republicans, had an obvious stake in ensuring all opinions are known during this year’s extremely close presidential race. Many nonpartisan groups, however, had their own reasons for spreading the message to vote.

“Part of our role on campus is to teach people responsibility,” said Jason Slack, the staff campus director of the Christian organization H20.

Politics are not H20’s usual forte, admitted Slack, but the group nonetheless registered four people at meetings.

H20 was not alone in using issues as motivation to register students. Jeff Nolish, the political action chair for the Latino Student Union, said his group signed fellow peers up to vote in the hope they would become more informed about what was going on around them.

“The reality is there are lots of people that suffer and lots of people that want to help,” Nolish said.

LSU registered hundreds of people by tabling at the Union, going to various off-campus apartments and holding Latinopalooza earlier this month. Members also went to typically freshman residence halls like Kreischer and MacDonald and held concerts at Howard’s Club H and the United Christian Fellowship specifically to register voters.

By canvassing the city, LSU members encountered mostly willing voters and only a few citizens who remained apathetic. One student adamantly refused to register until Nolish’s persistence won her over.

After building a case for both presidential candidates and discussing other political parties with the naysayer, she finally agreed to Nolish’s request. “I want to make sure everyone exercises that right,” he said.

Getting as many people as possible to register was the goal of most nonpartisan organizations.

The national fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha has a long history of registering people to vote, dating back to the early 20th century. This year was no different.The group registered over 250 students by soliciting at campus events like September’s Campus Fest, residence halls and Union tables. Most of the students who registered were upperclassmen, which showed chapter president Ugo Nwosu how imperative this election is to so many people.

“I was surprised because I thought they’d all be freshman,” he said.While nonpartisan groups certainly did their part this election year, it was the Democrats and Republicans who really pushed the need to vote.

College Democrats registered close to 1,000 students through tabling, in the residence hall rooms of members and at campus events, according to organization president Kathleen Hartwell.

Hartwell said people were more than willing to sign up, even Republicans who stated their party affiliation before registering. This was a huge departure from the indifference she encountered in previous years.

“It was like soliciting for credit cards,” she said of her past experience.

Although the main goal was to register everyone, Hartwell said her group made a habit of asking which presidential candidate students were voting for.

For those who were still undecided, members asked what issues were important to them and then argued why Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry was a better choice.

College Republicans also explained to unsure students why President George W. Bush was a better pick and were successful with many new voters, according to organization president Monika Winkler.

“They were relieved. They didn’t realize how easy registering could be,” Winkler said.

“It is a civic duty to take part in the political process,” she said. “Voting for president is important, but when it comes down to it, change happens in your own state, not just nationally.”