FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Young Democrats of Georgia Southern University Respond to Statesboro Voter Registration ChallengesSTATESBORO, Georgia. November 6, 2007 - Young Democrats of Georgia Southern University. The Young Democrats of Georgia Southern University stand firmly against the blatant attempts by local citizens to disenfranchise youth voters. While we recognize that Georgia electors have the legal right to contest the validity of voter registrations, we feel the statements made by members of Statesboro Citizens for Good Government show that the motive behind challenging almost 1000 voter registrations in Statesboro was political gain and to deny a group of people the right to vote.
Much attention has been paid to the reasons that students in Statesboro have decided to register. Some have said that students should not be be going to the polls when they are concerned with but a few issues. A citizen's right to vote is not affected by their reason for voting. Simply put, one's motives in voting should not be questioned if they are legal registrants. Questioning the motives of voters serves only as a distraction to the issue that contesting their registration is an attempt to take away right their vote.
Another rationale for challenging the registrations of students is that they do not spend the entire year in Statesboro--even if they spend a majority of it here. If these were Bulloch County natives that spent their summer at their vacation house, the question would simply not arise. Also the fact that students only spend a few years of their life attending university does not serve as a valid justification. Most degree programs last for four years, which is the term of a city councilman. Many decisions can be made in that time period that affect the day to day life of students and the students should have a voice in who is representing them in the decision making process. Further, the community of thousands of Georgia Southern students is continuously present in Statesboro and voting is the way to ensure that this everpresent community has a voice in Statesboro's governance.
Rather than attempt to try to take away the right to vote of almost 1000 new registrants, the citizens of Statesboro should be applauding the shear volume of civic engagment that has occurred in our community. We definitely are. The age group that is generally the most apathetic has decided that they want change and have taken steps to ensure it happens. This is democracy at work.
ABOUT THE YOUNG DEMOCRATS OF GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
Our primary mission is to create a bloc of young, Democratic voters! We do this by educating the students, faculty and staff of Georgia Southern, as well as the community, about the political vision and ideals of the Democratic Party. We are a chapter of the Young Democrats of Georgia and the Young Democrats of America. Our website is
http://www.georgiasouthernyds.org.
DISCLAIMER
The content of this student organization's press release is not sanctioned by Georgia Southern University and does not represent official information or opinions of the University. Young Democrats of Georgia Southern University is solely responsible for the contents of this press release.
CONTACTS
Haley Shank
president@georgiasouthernyds.org
229-393-6503
Patrick Coleman
s.patrick.coleman@gmail.com
229-854-2153
