���Every citizen deserves equal access to the political process,��� she said in a speech delivered to a handful of students in the Wolverine Room of the Michigan Union yesterday.

Michigan Student Assembly Vice President Jennifer Nathan, who also spoke at the event, said any complication in the registration process, however minor, depresses voter turnout.

���You���re not going to be inclined to vote when the process is so difficult,��� she said.

Brater conceded that her package, which she hopes will help reverse a ���downward trajectory��� in rates of voting among college-aged citizens, has no chance of passage in time for this year���s elections.

���I don���t expect even to get a hearing on this issue,��� she said, blaming the Republicans, who currently control both houses of the state Legislature.

One part of Brater���s package would allow first-time voters, including many University students who want to vote in their hometown elections, to register by mail even if they wish to submit an absentee ballot. Existing laws require first-time voters to register in person to receive absentee ballots.

���That is something that very clearly disenfranchises students,��� said College Democrats Secretary Courtney Skiles, an LSA senior. ���Students don���t have the resources to travel to their Secretary of State (Branch Office),��� she added. ���Brater���s legislation would eliminate one more significant barrier to students voting.���

Brater���s proposed legislation would also allow a student to vote on campus without having to affix a change-of-address sticker to the back of his driver���s license.

Brater encouraged students to vote in Ann Arbor���s elections.

���Students are very affected by local issues,��� she said.

���I don���t see much of an advantage to voting in Ann Arbor as opposed to your hometown,��� said Students for Bush Chair Scott Foley, explaining that Democrats will win most of the races and issues in the city. But he encouraged students from solidly Republican or Democratic states to vote in Michigan, which is seen as a swing state in the upcoming presidential election.

Skiles also said Michigan���s contested electoral votes make it important for students to vote in the state.

Another bill would permit citizens to submit absentee ballots without providing an excuse, which is currently required under state law. This would have a minimal impact on students, for whom school is a legitimate excuse for not being present at their designated polling places on Election Day. The bill would allow citizens who are unable to vote in person to participate in their local elections.

Foley said many students are unaware that as a result of a 2000 law, the address on their driver���s licenses must match the address on their Voter Identification Cards.

Referring to the 2000 law, Brater said, ���That had the intended consequence of disenfranchising many students on Michigan campuses.��� Public Act 118, enacted shortly before the 2000 elections, was challenged four years ago by MSA and five other student assemblies, but it passed legal muster in court.

Brater accused former state Sen. Mike Rogers, whose district included the Michigan State University campus, of sponsoring the act to intentionally depress the student vote. In the 2000 elections, Rogers won a seat in the U.S. House by a narrow margin of victory. Brater attributed Rogers���s victory to the negative effect his legislation had on the participation of MSU students.

By the same token, Brater, who is up for re-election in 2006, and another sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Virgil Bernero (D-Lansing), both could benefit from the package if it has its intended effect of increasing rates of voting on college campuses.

Students can check if they are registered to vote in Michigan by going to www.sospublius.org. If they are registered, the website will tell the address of their polling location.

Those not registered to vote in Ann Arbor, including first-time voters and students registered elsewhere, can do so at the City Clerk���s Office on the second floor of City Hall at 100 N. Fifth Ave. Mail-in registration forms are available at www.michigan.gov/sos. Completed forms should be mailed to the City Clerk���s Office.

Students who wish to participate in their hometown elections may either register at or submit the mail-in form to their local clerk���s office. First-time voters who pursue the latter option forfeit the right to submit an absentee ballot.

All newly registered voters and those who have changed their addresses should receive their voter I.D. cards in the mail within three weeks of completing the registration process. Students who do not receive their I.D. cards within three weeks should contact the clerk���s office of the city where they registered to vote.

���There are many hindrances to voting if you���re a student,��� Skiles said. But she said that it is misconception that the registration process is difficult.

���It���s easy because of the concerted effort that students are making to register voters,��� she said. ���Registering to vote is a really simple process. It takes maybe 30 seconds to one minute to fill in your address and sign the form.���

���The problem is the lack of education of what the specific rules are,��� Foley said. ���You have to really seek out the specific rules.���

But he added that although there may be security reasons for