UC Berkeley is currently a leader among college campuses for voter registration, vying for first place in the national Ultimate College Bowl competition.

The Ultimate College Bowl, a voter registration contest among 500 campuses, lists UC Santa Barbara in first place with 4,650 registrations and UC Berkeley in second with 3,318 as of last Friday. Death Cab for Cutie will perform a free concert at the campus that registers the highest number of voters.

As of Thursday night, officials of the UC Berkeley Vote Coalition reported that they have registered about 5,300 students at UC Berkeley since August, with the goal of registering 10,000 by the Oct. 20 California registration deadline. Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara Voter Registration Volunteer Coalition member Jaclyn Feldstein estimated nearly 5,500 registrations on her campus.

With the voter registration deadline approaching, the coalition has increased its efforts to register voters on campus. The coalition registered more than 1,000 students this Monday through Wednesday, said Dionne Jirachaikitti, ASUC external affairs vice president.

Last week, the organization moved its booth to Upper Sproul Plaza by Sather Gate. In addition to making classroom announcements, the coalition has set up tables in front of Moffitt Library, Evans Hall and the Recreational Sports Facility.

Coalition officials will work even harder during UC Voter Registration Week, which lasts from Oct. 13-20 and is endorsed by UC President Mark Yudof.

Jirachaikitti estimated that the vote coalition will register up to 8,000 students this year. She added that UC Berkeley registered roughly 6,300 students before the 2004 presidential election and has never registered more than 7,000 students.

"We knew 10,000 was a very high goal," she said. "We thought it was good to aim high. The goals we have set are about more than the numbers. It's about creating a vote culture on this campus."

Jirachaikitti added that the College Bowl has been a strong motivation for some students to register.

"It's good to have a concert as incentive for people who otherwise wouldn't register," Jirachaikitti said.

Why Tuesday?, a voter education group, created the national competition with the goal of registering every college student to vote and rewarding campuses and organizations that participate in voter registration.

"(The Ultimate College Bowl) combines incentives, social networking and on-the-ground registration to give students the tools they need to register and vote," said Barnett Zitron, the education group's managing director.

Students said the vote coalition's booth on Upper Sproul Plaza was beneficial, adding that its visibility would increase voter registration on campus.

"There's so many important issues right now. If we don't vote, we can't complain about the outcome," said senior Samantha Stevens, who registered at the coalition booth Thursday.

Tags: ELECTIONS 2008, VOTER REGISTRATION