To the Editor:

Kudos to the St. Lawrence County Board of Elections who are providing every opportunity for county residents to register to vote for the Nov. 6 elections. In an era where many states have deliberately put barriers up to prevent people from registering and voting, St. Lawrence County is going the extra mile help voters cast a ballot.

The Board of Elections will be open special hours in the former jail, 48 Court Street Canton, from noon to 9 pm on Sat., Oct. 13 for those who still need to register.

When it comes to voter registration, New York is ranked 47th in the nation, with less than 64 percent of eligible residents registered to vote.

If you have graduated, moved in the last year, or gotten married or divorced and changed your name, you may need to re-register to vote in the 2012 election.

2012 is the first presidential election in 20 years to follow a US Census, so many established voters may be in new districts and their polling places may have changed. St. Lawrence County residents are now divided into 3 Senate districts and 4 Assembly Districts in New York State.

Forty percent of nonvoters are under 30 years old. Nationally, young adults between the ages of 18 to 29 make up about 46 million, or 24 percent, of the total voting population. If you are now eligible to vote, make sure you resister by the deadline.

Please register, educate yourself about the candidates, the races and the issues, and vote on Nov. 6.

Donna Seymour, AAUW-NYS Public Policy Director