Obama Focuses on Youth Registration

The Barack Obama campaign is intensifying its voter-registration efforts this week.

“We plan to make yet another last-minute, very aggressive push across the state,” said Steve Hildebrand, Obama’s deputy national campaign manager.

Last weekend, Obama volunteers canvassed across the state to sign up new voters. This week, they will continue voter-registration drives at malls, high schools, colleges and door-to-door. The actress and singer Tatyana Ali will attend several voter-registration drives, including ones in Greensboro at Bennett College and N.C. A&T State University.

The campaign is placing a particular emphasis on young voters, who have turned out for Obama in record-breaking numbers in other states. One target for the campaign is 17-year-olds. If they will turn 18 by the Nov. 4 general election, 17-year-olds are allowed to vote in North Carolina’s primary.

On a conference call today, the campaign announced a “Carolina Change Challenge,” in which the 10 volunteers who register the most voters will get to meet with Obama. The five high school students who register the most fellow high school students will also get to meet with him.

If you want to vote in the May 6 primary and you are not registered to vote, the deadline to register in the traditional way is this Friday, April 11. Under a new state law, you can also register to vote (and then immediately cast your ballot) at early voting locations, which will be available between April 17 and May 3.