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GREENSBORO — Sy Jasmin leafed through the wrinkled voter registration forms thrust into his hands by clipboard-carrying volunteers Thursday afternoon.

One of the papers stopped him cold. Creases formed on Jasmin’s young forehead as he squinted at the address:

Campus Box ...

No number.

“Clifford, Clifford, Clifford,” Jasmin said slowly, shaking his head while reading the first name scrawled on the form. “This ain’t gonna do it.”

Jasmin looked up at volunteer Marcus Davis, an eager 18-year-old N.C. A&T freshman who joined the registration effort that day.

“We’re gonna have to call him. Here’s his number,” Jasmin said, pointing to a spot on the form. “We have to call him and say, 'Clifford, listen man, there’s no box number here. You’re going to have to early vote.’ We’re out of time.”

***

Whether in early voting this month or on Election Day on Nov. 4, young people across the country are expected to vote in record numbers this year.

If they go to the polls as expected, they could decide this election. And that’s never happened before.

Between 1972, the first election when 18-year-olds were allowed to vote, and 2000, turnout among those 18 to 24 declined by 16 percentage points.

Even with an upswing in 2004, only 47 percent of registered 18- to 24-year-olds voted, compared with 66 percent of those 25 and older, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Judging by the primaries — an estimated 6.5 million young people participated nationwide — that percentage could jump considerably.

***

It’s all about organization.

Jasmin, a 19-year-old junior, has led voter registration efforts on campus and in the neighborhoods surrounding A&T since late last year. He and his friends had signed up thousands of new voters before rapper Bow Wow set foot inside the Memorial Student Union for Thursday’s get-out-the-vote rally on the eve of the registration deadline.

The deadline has passed, but the work continues.

“We’ve been back-checking,” said freshman volunteer Marques Harrington, 19. “We’re going back to the dorms and campus apartments to do voter education. ... A lot of people are worried because they haven’t got their registration cards back yet. We’re telling them about early voting.”

In early voting, people can register and vote on the same day. Harrington said he’s encouraging A&T students to go to the early voting session Oct. 25 at Dudley Memorial Hall.

“Things are changing, and if you’re not registered to vote, then I think you just don’t care about your country,” said freshman Kristen Chambers, 18. “The only way to make your voice heard is to vote. ... This election is something I can tell my kids about someday. Either way it turns out, this is history. I want to be a part of it.”

***

Whoever makes history, the mood will be the same in one apartment at The Village at High Point University.

That’s where two political science majors — senior Sage Dunston, 21, and junior Nick Ruden, 20 — chose to live as roommates this year.

Dunston is president of the campus chapter of College Democrats. Ruden is president of the College Republicans.

“We don’t bring a lot of politics back in the room,” Ruden said. “We’re both Southern born and Southern bred, so we have manners. ... Whatever happens on election night, one of us is going to be somber and the other one is going to be ecstatic.”

And they’ll still be friends.

“It’s a respect thing,” Dunston said. “You may not agree on political issues, but there’s an undertone of respect. Look, you have to realize, at the end of the day we’re trying to get to the same place. We just see different paths on the way to get there.”

There are more of Dunston’s Democrats (150) than Ruden’s Republicans (85), but both groups have been active this election year. Dunston and Ruden said their efforts have gone deeper than the presidential races, and their groups are pushing policies of candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, state and national representatives, even judges.

“We’re the voices for our parties on campus,” Ruden said. “We’ve done voter registration drives, voter awareness campaigns. We’re driving the political debate on campus and sticking to the issues. ... I think my style of politics is you don’t kick somebody and then ask for their vote.”

Many of High Point’s students come from out of state, and both parties are courting them to register and vote here.

“I certainly do believe that young people will decide this election, especially here,” Dunston said. “I tell (out-of-state students), 'North Carolina is a toss-up state for the first time in 30 years. Why not vote here and decide an election?’”

And some day down the road, Ruden and Dunston both said they would cross the aisle and vote for one another.

“What you see right here, sitting right next to me, is the next great senator from the state of North Carolina, Mr. Nick Ruden,” Dunston joked. “And I would absolutely vote for him. As for me, I would love to be governor of this great state some day.”

“I could see that,” Ruden said. “I could definitely see that.”

***

Young voters filled every seat in the courtly parlor of Warren Ashby Residential College at UNCG on Wednesday night, and they came for more than the free pizza.

The politics drew them in.

Two state representatives running unopposed — Republican John Blust and Democrat Pricey Harrison — sat in front of the fireplace and debated with College Libertarians Libby Irving and Steph Rahl. Each explained party perspectives on issues of education, economics and environment.

Blust and Harrison gave polished, frank answers to student questions. Even so, Irving and Rahl held their own.

But maybe that’s not so surprising. After all, Irving, a 20-year-old junior at UNCG, was only 2 when Rock The Vote was born and 4 when the first of its public service announcements aired on MTV.

“I used to go over to a friend’s house,” she recalled, “and we’d watch C-SPAN and yell at the TV. ... People are becoming more aware of (politics) younger.”

It’s nearly certain — the next president will be either black or 72 years old. And the vice president could be a woman.

“People are feeling a connection, even if it’s on a superficial level,” Irving said. “I’m stoked. I can’t wait to vote. I think this is a landmark election that will set precedents for all elections to come.”

And young people — just like those gathered in that parlor, clad in T-shirts, flannel lounge pants and slippers — are engaged and energized like never before.

“I’m really glad that this is the first presidential election I get to vote in,” 21-year-old senior Eric Gal said. “I feel like this one has inspired a lot more interest, particularly among college students. The reality is, something new is coming with either candidate. I sense the power of my vote.”Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com