Section 1 of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution states that “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”

Fresno State and Associated Students Inc. have taken proactive measures to uphold that amendment and ensure that students have an opportunity to vote on Election Day.

ASI, through an initiative issued by the California State Student Association, registered more than 1,700 students to vote, said ASI president Arthur Montejano.

Montejano said that that effort continued through Oct. 22, the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 6 election.

Fresno State will have its own polling place on campus in the Satellite Student Union — a first for the university.

But exactly how many students will be voting in this election?

It’s a question that offers the same level of ambiguity as asking how many licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop.

“If all of us voted, we would probably swing most elections,” Montejano said “And we just don’t. That’s what makes it politically safe to do things like cut education. Or that’s why the national discourse pays lip service to education without any real follow-up because we don’t follow up.”

The youth vote (ages 18-24)­ — a category most undergraduate college students fall under — has established a positive trend in recent elections. Since the 2004 general election, where the youth vote accounted for 9.3 percent of voters, voter participation among the age 18-24 demographic has increased.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 51 percent of the country’s 18-24 population did not vote in the 2008 election. About 15 million registered voters in the 2008 election belonged to the age 18-24 demographic.

Of that number, 12.5 million reported to have voted in the general election.

But, again, how many students will be voting this year?

“I haven’t gotten a lot of information,” said Estela Herrera, a fourth-year student. “And I haven’t had time to. I don’t like to vote if I don’t have the information.”

In both recent general elections, the youth vote accounted for the least percentage of votes.

“I think a large part of it is we’re just busy,” said Jacob Sheeter, a second-year student. “I mean, let’s face it: most of us are college students who have one or two jobs. To be on top of politics, you have to devote a lot of time to kind of really know what’s going on.”

The U.S. Census Bureau released a poll listing reasons for not voting in the 2008 election. More than 2.5 million people in the 18-24 age group participated.

Twelve possible reasons for not voting were listed. Of those 12, the overwhelmingly popular reason was that participants were too busy or had conflicting schedules.

Is it a valid reason?

“Hell no,” Sheeter said. “I feel, as a youth, I’m going to spend a lot of time in this country. I’m only 19, so it’s important to me that I elect people that will shape policies that are beneficial to me in the long term.”

State and local initiatives — primarily Proposition 30 — in this year’s general ballot have the potential to be heavily influenced by the youth vote, Fresno State President John D. Welty said.

“I think this is an election where the 18-to-24 year-old group can actually turn the tide one way or another,” Welty said. “It has probably never been more important for that group to vote. Their vote’s going to count.”

Welty said, “I think the important thing for everyone Tuesday is to get out and vote. Certainly in doing that, be as informed as possible about all of the issues on the ballot.”

Students like Daniel Dukes, a senior, primarily choose to vote on state and local initiatives, and not necessarily on presidential candidates.

“I’m not really concerned about the presidential election because I live in California — it’s a blue (democrat) state,” Dukes said.

“If you’re in a swing state, then you matter. You don’t see advertisements for presidents here.”

Fresno County has 410,188 registered voters, as reported by the County Clerk Registrar of Voters on Oct. 30. It is an increase from the 382,827 registered voters during the 2008 presidential election.

It remains to be seen how many of those who are registered are youth voters.

“Taking yourself out of the equation doesn’t solve the problem,” Montejano said.

“It perpetuates it.”

Several students declined to comment for this story.