What's the plan for Nov. 4? Classes, work, a group meeting - oh, right, and voting for the next president.

Aaron Bacon, a 20-year-old student at Emerson, says college students can get wrapped up in their everyday busy work, and voting may not be a priority. That is why he, along with six friends, created a website, BeAbsentee.org, pushing absentee voting as the right way to vote.

Last spring, Bacon and his friends were talking about the upcoming election and about the reasons young people don't go out to the polls as much in comparison with older people.

"So many times people register to vote, and Rock the Vote is good about registering people, but you can't expect them to show up at the polls. It's one day a year, and a narrow window of time for college students who still wake up at noon," Bacon said.

After Google-searching about absentee voting, Bacon came to realize that the information was not readily accessible. BeAbsentee.org has gathered all of the information needed and broken it down by state.

"We really push absentee voting. Instead of telling people absentee voting is an alternative, we're trying to tell them it's the way we all should be voting," Bacon said. "Through the website, we're telling everyone, 'Here's the form, fill it out, send it back.' "

The website offers the top 10 reasons to vote absentee, including not having to stand in line, avoiding awkward conversations with neighbors, and the fact that it might rain on Election Day.

The website includes all the forms someone would need to be able to vote absentee in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. This effort mainly targets young voters, especially the ones from swing states such as Florida and Ohio, which many times have a lower youth voting turnout than states like Minnesota.

"I think if this gets picked up in some of the battleground states, it would be very exciting for us," Bacon said. "I'm interested to see if it's going to make an impact, and if absentee voting will be big this year. That's what we're going for."

MARY ANN GEORGANTOPOULOS

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