City looks to increase number of registered voters

By Dave Clark

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008 | 2:42 p.m.

As Nevada State College students whizzed by a desk stacked with voter registration forms Sept. 3, Henderson passport and election services specialist Marilee Forst stood at the ready, asking them their voter status and offering wallet-sized cards detailing when to vote.

It was just one of roughly 20 drives the city is scheduled to undertake in advance of this year's presidential elections — an effort that began in March. Registration for the Nov. 4 election ends Oct. 14.

"We always do it on an ongoing basis in the office," City Clerk Monica Martinez Simmons said. "We receive requests to do these at City Hall or different events. Often times we'll take advantage of events going on."

She called drives at places like Nevada State a nice way to reach out to the community and schools in particular. Forst said drives at schools are especially important in light of students' work and family commitments.

"It's to give students an opportunity to be part of the election process," she said. "They can register right here without doing any kind of traveling."

Nursing students Betsy Person, 33, and Tiffany Walker, 27 were already registered when approached by Forst. Both had watched parts of the Democratic National Convention, which Person called a historic event.

But they held differing views on the ultimate impact of politics. Person described herself as intensely interested in this year's election, while Walker characterized much of the conventions as a charade of hype.

"This election is more about the issues," Person said. "We have choices."

In addition to the economy, she was looking for a candidate to address problems students have obtaining financial aid and the country's health care system, which she described as horrible.

"We want to make sure jobs will be there when we get out of school," Person said. "We don't want to get kicked out of our houses and be sleeping in cars."

She and Walker both professed an extreme dislike for attack ads.

"Talk about the issues," Person said. "What are you going to do for me?"

Both Alicia Cusunano and Maria Rodriguez were focusing intently on local issues, pointing to the need for more money for schools and health care.

"I struggle getting my 5-year-old into school," Rodriguez said.

Cusunano also expressed dismay in the state's foster care system after having worked in the Department of Child and Family Services.

"We have an exorbitant amount of homeless youth," she said.

Neither had been watching the national party conventions, citing time constraints, although both had been following the campaign. Cusunano said she was not drawn to either candidate. She disliked Sen. Barack Obama's stance on guns and was dismissive of Sen. John McCain's vice presidential pick Sarah Palin.

Person said she felt the selection of Palin reflected poorly on McCain as well.

"It makes me wonder what kind of choices he would make in the White House," she said. "It makes me nervous."

Immigration and ending the war in Iraq were primary concerns for Rodriguez, who felt the war was draining dollars from state budgets. She also worried about the immigration status of her relatives.

"I wish we could get something resolved with immigration," she said. "I wish we could get something done to protect them."

While only a few students were registered Sept. 3, Simmons said the city has registered about 120 voters this year in various drives held outside the clerk's office. Simmons predicted the total could reach 600 with an invitation to Coronado High School's senior assembly Sept. 24.

Meanwhile, the office registers new voters daily. Simmons said the number of new registrations has not significantly increased compared with past elections, but the number of inquiries the office fields about when and where to register has.

Forst was not surprised by the level of awareness of students and residents.

"This is a very important election," she said.

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or [email protected].