A nonpartisan, nonprofit political organization will address the importance of voting in this year’s presidential election Thursday at TCU.

The Programming Council worked with the Student Government Association to bring the organization, Project Vote Smart, to campus to present an unbiased account of the presidential candidates and issues in the election.

“Our main purpose in doing this is to educate the populace about the candidates,” said Chad Dresser, a programming council member. “We want people to know who they’re voting for.”

Since Jan. 5, Vote Smart volunteers have been traveling across the nation in a red, white and blue bus making stops at high school and college campuses hoping to influence voters – especially young voters – to check campaign facts and claims on Vote Smart’s Web site, which attempts to measure the validity of campaign information.

With the March 4 primary quickly approaching, some think the bus’ stop in north Texas could be crucial.

“The young people have played a huge role in this year’s primaries and I expect the same result here in Texas,” said Adam Schiffer, assistant professor of political science. “Young people are coming out in smashing numbers and are turning genuine excitement into active participation.”

Statistics show that America’s youth is positioned to impact the 2008 election outcome. In June, pollsters at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found that 92 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they are “almost certain” they will vote in the 2008 presidential election.

Although information from the study shows that young voters are prepared to participate, some think TCU students lack a full understanding of the issues.

“I think a lot of people think they know what they’re talking about,” said William Brown, a junior finance/real-estate major. “But a majority of the time they don’t really understand the concepts and are just regurgitating their parents’ beliefs.”

Karen Anisman, one of the faculty members responsible for bringing Project Vote Smart to campus, said it is important to be fully informed on the issues and anything that raises awareness about the importance of voting is beneficial.

According to a March 2007 survey by the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics, 71 percent of non-college young adults are registered to vote and 85 percent of college students are registered to vote.

Although the registration deadline has passed to vote in the Texas primary, information on registration for the November election will be available.

Project Vote Smart began in 1988 as an organization dedicated to providing nonpartisan information free of special interests. According to the Vote Smart Web site, the organization does not accept contributions from political action committees or corporations and refuses to take advocacy positions.

The Project Vote Smart bus will be on campus Thursday from 10 to 3 p.m. in the Lowden parking lot between the library and Smith Entrepreneurial Hall.