From Sept. 30 to Oct. 6, voters can participate in Golden Week, a new opportunity to register and vote in the same day.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections will hold this event at 451 W. Third St. in Downtown Dayton.

Vote Today Ohio will provide free transportation for UD students to and from the voting center.

United States citizens who are 18 or older by Nov. 4 and who have lived in Ohio for more than 30 days before the election can participate, regardless of whether or not they have submitted an absentee ballot, according to Tony Blankemeyer, the Dayton organizer for Vote Today

Ohio.

Sophomore Maggie Malach said she registered and voted Thursday.

"I think that it is really important

that students vote, but it's really hard to while you are away at school," Malach said. "Golden Week will provide a chance for first-time voters and out-of-state students to participate without the hassle."

Many states are participating in similar programs, and nearly one-third of the electorate is expected to vote early this year, Blankemeyer

said. Vote Today Ohio's goal is to get 10,000 new or unlikely voters

to participate and to encourage

youth leadership, according to http://www.votetodayohio.blogspot.

com/.

Golden Week is a result of the efforts of the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, who told all 88 Ohio counties to allow a weeklong period in which their constituents can register and vote in the same day, Blankemeyer said. Brunner said this was acceptable

due to an overlap between the submission of absentee ballots and the deadline for voter registration. Both state and federal courts voted in favor of this action.

"Ohio has been a hard fought state in presidential contests with disputes in 2004 over voting procedures

that drew national attention,"

Blankemeyer said. "Brunner

is attempting to allow enough time for everyone to make it to the polls to have their voices heard."

Republicans have criticized this weeklong window, according to Dr. Jason Pierce, a UD political science professor. He said the Republican

leadership in the state is concerned that individuals registering

and voting at the same time will result in voter fraud. They said there should be 30 days between

the time voters register and cast their ballots. Some speculate that Republicans are trying to suppress

votes, according to the Dayton

Daily News,.

"This ruling is a victory for all Ohio voters," Brunner said in an article in the Dayton Daily News Tuesday. "It should send a message to the forces of confusion and chaos

that our top goal must be protecting

Ohioans' voting rights."

Golden Week may play a significant

role in the election outcome. Current polls show Sen. John McCain

is just one percentage point ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in Ohio, according to Pierce. Ohio contains 400,000 resident students who may be voting.

Vote Today Ohio will pick students up anywhere on campus, but they will be stationed in the lot by Humanities Plaza, with guaranteed

pickup times at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., according

to Blankemeyer. Students may call 513-885-9988 if they need transportation.

The voting center will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Students need to know the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver's license number. If they have already registered, they may still cast their votes early.

"Because it is so close, these efforts

like Vote Today Ohio are critically

important," Pierce said. "It is a razor thin election, and every vote will matter."