Before I explain why I think you should vote for Rep. Tom Udall for Senate in November, I would like to dispel a couple myths about voting.
Myth: It doesn't matter whom you vote for, as long as you vote.
Truth: It matters very much whom you vote for. Different candidates will do vastly different things when they are in office, and those things obviously matter. Elections can turn on as little as hundreds or even dozens of votes. You and your friends can decide who will represent us in the House, the Senate and even as our president.
Myth: Politics and elections don't really have anything to do with students or young people.
Truth: Elections can determine whether we go to war, whether we invest in renewable energy, how much we pay for college and how many good jobs are available once we graduate.
If you care about any of those things, then you need to vote for Udall for Senate in November.
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Udall has been representing New Mexico in Congress for the past 10 years. He has a reputation as someone with integrity who will do what is right for the entire state. He is seen as a leader on renewable energy and the environment, and he has written and introduced a bill to require utility companies to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. In fact, New Mexico already leads on this with utilities that will produce 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Udall also served on the Veterans Committee, where he consistently increased funding for veterans' health care and education. He helped pass the new G.I. Bill, which expands education benefits for post-9/11 veterans, and he has increased funding to treat some of the most common problems for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, such as traumatic brain injuries.
Before becoming a congressman, Udall was New Mexico's attorney general. He focused on some of New Mexico's toughest problems, working for tougher penalties on repeat drunk drivers and fighting domestic violence. He also went after corrupt politicians, even if they were in his own party.
Udall will make an amazing U.S. senator and will always do what is right for New Mexico and the country. On the other hand, his opponent, Rep. Steve Pearce, is a right-wing politician who follows in the footsteps of President Bush and Dick Cheney, and he's not afraid to admit it. He uses fear and scare tactics to win votes. Pearce also agrees with Bush on the economy, essentially doing whatever is best for the special interests and the big oil companies instead of what is best for the people he should be representing: New Mexicans.
Pearce has received more than $600,000 in campaign contributions from big oil companies, and his votes in Congress prove he is trying to return the favor. Pearce voted to keep $14 billion in tax subsidies for big oil, even though big oil companies are already making massive record profits. That is not leadership. That is putting special interests before the interests of New Mexicans.
So make sure you get out and vote, and make sure your friends do, as well. With an election as close as this one, and with New Mexico being a key swing state, UNM students could literally decide who our next president will be and who our next U.S. senator from New Mexico will be.
You still have time to register to vote, and you have many options for how to vote. The Web site VoteUdall.com is a one-stop shop. I recommend you visit to register and/or request a mail-in ballot. You can also register at the Country Clerk's Office or at any of the Democratic Party offices around the city. The last day to register is Oct. 7. You can also vote early starting on Oct. 18 in the SUB.
One more myth I'd like to strike down before I go: As long as you are registered to vote in New Mexico, you can vote for anyone you want. So all you Republicans and Independents out there can still vote for Udall.
Kelly Seibert is president of Students for Tom Udall and a board member of UNM College Democrats.
