Rebecca Vigil-Giron, New Mexico secretary of state, said Wednesday that one of the main reasons young people don’t vote is because they are not involved in the process.
She met with students, members of the Voter Services Coalition and the Bernalillo County Clerk in Johnson Center to discuss youth involvement in the government and voting.
During a brief speech, Vigil-Giron said less than 25 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds vote in the United States.
The deadline to register to vote for the upcoming Albuquerque mayoral race is Sept. 4.
Students will have the opportunity to pick up registration forms from members of the UNM Public Interest Research Group during today’s Welcome Back Days student organization event at the Duck Pond.
Vigil-Giron said many young people focus more on charity work rather than becoming involved with voting and the government, because they see direct results of their efforts.
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“They’d rather feed the homeless or work in hospitals,” she said.
Candidates and government officials need to do a better job of letting young people know that they can make a difference in the political process by showing them how they are connected to it, she said.
About 55 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds believe that schools are not successful in giving young people the information they need to vote, according to a national voting survey. The survey, called the New Millennium Project, was sponsored by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Vigil-Giron had a copy of the project, which has quotes from young people saying they don’t understand the differences between political parties or what to do in voting booths.
Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera said she will be taking a standard voting booth to Albuquerque High School to use for the school’s homecoming election so students can become more familiar with how they work.
Shannon Lumpkin, director of the UNM Public Interest Research Group, said the organization coordinated with other groups on campus last year and registered more than 2,000 UNM students to vote.
She said the group is working to get registration booths on campus so students won’t have to turn in their forms elsewhere.
“I think a lot of it has to do with convenience,” she said about voter registration.
Lumpkin said she would like students to understand their power as voters.
“I think we have more of an influence than most students believe,” she said.
Vigil-Giron said officials will continue to make decisions without the input of young people if they decide not to vote.
“You will be the losers if you remain absent from the political arena,” she said.
