news-record.com

GREENSBORO - Voter registration drives are a staple of election season, though some forms don't even make it to the elections office, one precinct judge at UNCG says.

When a registration isn't turned in to the elections office, another voter is slighted. Moreover, there's enough personal information on those cards to create good conditions for identity theft.

Karen Clark, a Moses Cone Hospital nurse who volunteers as a precinct judge on Election Day, saw the registration problem in the 2004 presidential election.

"I had person after person tell me that they registered," she said, but many who signed up in the UNCG food court weren't on the books. Apparently, nobody sent in the cards.

Anyone can grab a stack of registrations from a public library or the Guilford County Board of Elections and get people signed up.

And voter registration drives are common among clubs and student governments on college campuses, havens of political activism and discussion where plenty of 18-year-olds are ready for their first election. Including GTCC, roughly 50,000 students are enrolled in a college in Guilford County.

Registering through reputable student clubs such as the student government, Young Democrats or Young Republicans is generally safe, but the best way to avoid problems is to mail the registration yourself, according to George Gilbert, the county's elections director .

"If you have a question, tell them that you'll keep the form and drop it in the mail yourself," Gilbert said.

He has never heard of someone stealing the names, addresses, signatures or driver's license numbers from registration cards, he said, but added that kind of crime is possible.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com