College Republicans, Democrats work to sway upcoming elections

With the ring of a telephone and a knock at the door, many around IU quickly learn that midterm elections are only days away. \nVolunteers from the IU College Republicans and the IU College Democrats have worked for months in preparation for elections Tuesday by setting up voter registration and phone banks, among other grassroots efforts.\nBoth groups hope to generate a higher voter turnout than the traditionally sparse numbers seen in congressional midterm elections. \nAccording to the 2004 U.S. Census, about 58 percent of people ages 18-24 were registered to vote, and 47 percent actually cast ballots on Election Day. \nThe College Republicans focus on increasing these numbers, said Tara Virgil, internal vice chair of the College Republicans.\n"The county party is running phone banks 12 hours a day at the Republican headquarters in Monroe County," Virgil said. "We have a lot of volunteers from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at night working so hard to get the vote stronger."\nThe Democrats were working similar hours, said senior Emma Cullen, president of the College Democrats.\nWith volunteers on both sides having already worked for the campaigns for months as well as balancing schoolwork, fatigue for many proves inevitable. \nMelanie Morris, press secretary for Indiana 9th Congressional District Democratic challenger Baron Hill, acknowledged such exhaustion but said these efforts were vital to winning such a close race.\n"We have five days left, and in five days we are going to see the change we need to turn this country around," Morris said. \nThe College Democrats are attempting to convince voters that the elections are the beginning of what they believe to be a positive change, Cullen said. \n"This is one of the more important elections we have had in a long time," Cullen said. \nShe said this election is a chance to turn the government around in order to promote "financial responsibility."\n"Ironically enough, the Democrats are the fiscal conservatives in this election, and (the United States has) a huge deficit," she said. "Our generation and the generation after us are going to be the ones paying this off."\nIf the work among volunteers were a political race itself, both groups would likely claim victory. \n"Our efforts have been much more extensive than the College Democrats. Honestly, I don't know what they have been doing," Virgil said. "I know for months now, we have been getting people registered to vote, going door to door and making phone calls every night." \nShe said the IUCR has registered more than 600 students to vote since IU's fall term began.\nCullen acknowledged the presence of Republican publicity might be more widely seen in Bloomington and attributed this to Sodrel's incumbency.\n"I admit Baron Hill does not have as many T-shirts as Mike Sodrel, but Mike Sodrel has a lot more money," she said.