National Life Group sponsors “The GREAT AMERICAN VOTER TREK."

Students from Vermont’s top colleges and universities are cycling from The University of Vermont to The University of Wyoming to register voters.

In an effort to highlight the importance of voting, six students from Vermont’s leading colleges and universities are bicycling cross country from Vermont, the Green Mountain State, to Wyoming, the Equality State, to register as many voters as possible for the 2008 presidential election.

Click Here to See National Life's Voter Trek Video

The Great American Voter Trek began on June 16 in Vermont, the first state to allow non-property owners the right to vote, and will end July 31 in Wyoming, the first state to allow women the right to vote.

Why the focus on registering voters? The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that of the 197 million citizens who were eligible to vote in the last presidential election, only 142 million were registered. And, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center and The Associated Press found that 40 percent of all 18 to 29-year-olds are not registered to vote.

National Life has joined Cabot Cheese and a number of other concerned businesses in sponsoring the 47-day, 1,800-mile Trek.

Governor Jim Douglas, Attorney General William Sorrell, Roberta MacDonald of Cabot Cheese and Chris Graff of National Life Group spoke at the Burlington send-off for the students.

Graff said National Life sees the Trek as an opportunity to do a public good while supporting a great group of Vermont college students.

“Surveys show that if you can get young people registered, they will vote,” said Graff. “The Trek is designed to make it very easy for them to register.”

The cyclists will make stops in six key cities including: Buffalo (New York), Cleveland (Ohio), Chicago (Illinois), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Omaha (Nebraska) and Laramie (Wyoming). In between the six major registration stops, the cyclists will meet with mayors and town clerks in 25 different municipalities. The town officials will assist the cyclists in spreading the word on the importance of voting and will reach out to registered and non-registered citizens through a series of mini events at diners and local gathering places along the Trek route.

“We’re proud to be a sponsor of this exciting event,” said Cabot’s MacDonald. “This is a fantastic way for some of Vermont’s brightest and most engaging young minds to be involved in the political process. Their efforts will help raise voter awareness and engage more people in the political process. That’s something we can all be proud of.”

Members of the cycling team include: Max MacDonald of St. Michael’s College, Matt Healy of St. Michael’s College, Ali Tesoriero Saslafsky of The University of Vermont, Megan Newhouse of The University of Vermont, Nathan Williams of Middlebury College, and Hayden Coon of Johnson State College.