Jan 31, 2008 7:36 pm US/Eastern
Teen Challenges Peers To Register To Vote Online
PLANTATION, Fla. (CBS4) ―
Michael Gershoni isn't your typical high school senior.
The 18-year-old who attends The David Posnak Hebrew Day School, created a voter registration website called "
mystudentvote.com," all on his own.
"We have been looking at the statistics on the website and they say there have been 5000 hits in the last two weeks and for me that's incredible," said Michael Gershoni.
The site shows the Republican and Democrat candidates for president and features a section where you can register to vote in any of the 50 states.
"All you have to do is click on 'register me to vote'. And click on Florida and the registration form comes on the screen. And all you have to do is print it out, fill it out and mail it in or bring it in to the registration office," Gershoni said. "I'm trying to make it as easy as possible."
He created the site after going to a leadership conference. When he returned from the trip, he was surprised to learn that only three students in his class were registered to vote.
He says some of his classmates weren't registered because they didn't want to drive to the registration office.
When I sat down to talk with his classmates I found that only two people were registered to vote prior to the websites launch.
But after just two weeks, the site gained a significant amount of his peer's attention, and now, the high school seniors are positioned to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
The show of support is proof that Michael has made a difference in his school. But he wishes every 18-year-old was registered. Experts say 18-29 year old voters are casting their ballot in record numbers this presidential election.
"It is very important that the students register because it is a huge voting number and crucial," said Gershoni.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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