More than twice the number of students who voted on campus in the last midterm election turned out to vote yesterday, largely due to increased early registration and overall student awareness, members of Represent Penn State said.

Turnout for the five on-campus precincts exceeded that of the 2002 midterm election by 118 percent, according to Centre County Board of Elections statistics.

Turnout for State College's off-campus precincts also increased by 35 percent, according to the Web site.

Penn State Represent chairman Trey Thomas said his organization's get-out-the-vote efforts and overall student awareness influenced the significant increase.

"Going from 422 to 924 on campus was something we are definitely proud of," he said. "There's no doubt that the nature of the races in Pennsylvania helped."

State College Borough Council member Elizabeth Goreham, who worked at the polls in HUB Heritage Hall, agreed that better knowledge of the candidates and current events may have led to an increase in student voting compared to other midterm elections.

"There's a greater awareness to students of national issues and local issues and how they tie in," she said. "The power of students is an untapped resource to themselves and to the country."

Goreham said she was inspired by student involvement in the election.

"I have never been a poll worker before and I was delighted to be at the HUB," she said. "I was really impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment of the students --it made be feel like I was part of something big."

Although voter turnout and engagement may have been high, some obstacles still kept students from voting.

John Richter (junior-history and political science), who worked for the College Democrats outside of Heritage Hall, said he encountered some student voters who were unaware they were not registered to vote in Centre County.

"We have to tell them the only way to vote is to drive home," he said.

Tim Dolan (freshman-biology) said he had to vote downtown at the College Township Building, 1481 E. College Ave., instead of at the HUB because he lived in one of the four buildings in East Halls that belonged to a different precinct.

"I think it's kind of stupid," he said. "It's a big campus, they should have somewhere we can vote without going downtown."

However, Dolan said he planned on taking a van provided by Represent Penn State to his polling place.

"At least they did something to help," he said.

Thomas said Represent planned to rectify this situation in the future.

"We were hoping to be able to change it before the elections," he said. "If we can prove to Centre County that it is an undue burden on students then they can move it back."

Erin Fitzgerald (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies), who handed out political literature outside of the State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St., said most State College residents she encountered seemed pleased with what they perceived as high student involvement.

"Most people are kind of excited to see young people here active in the election," she said.