Getting Tulsa teens registered and then getting them to vote

Young voters could have the deciding vote in the upcoming elections. That's if they show up at the polls. <br/><br/>Organizations like Tulsa Student Voices are trying to get out the younger vote

Wednesday, September 29th 2004, 11:19 am

By: News On 6

Young voters could have the deciding vote in the upcoming elections. That's if they show up at the polls.

Organizations like Tulsa Student Voices are trying to get out the younger vote with voter registration drives, like one Wednesday at Memorial High School.

Student Voices teamed up with Memorial students and teachers to get high schoolers who'll be 18 by Election Day registered to vote. They say students and younger voters could be crucial to deciding state questions like the lottery, which is supposed to fund education.

The challenge comes in convincing the young that their vote could change their lives. Shelly Boggs with the Tulsa County Election Board: "It is very important that an 18 year old get registered and vote because statistics show that once they begin to vote at an early age, they'll continue to vote throughout their life time and if they wait until their 20s or 30s they don't take it as seriously as when they start right off the bat."

The Tulsa County election board says they've seen double the number of voters registering that they saw in the past two presidential elections.