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After nearly two months of on-campus work by various organizations, almost all students at Kent State University now say that they’re registered to vote.

The temperature is in the low 50s. The sky is light gray. And a hard rain falls intermittently.

This is my third day on campus, standing beside the Vote Today Ohio van outside the Student Center. There are 23,622 students enrolled here, and I think I’ve spoken to almost all of them.

One-third of them approach with cell phones or iPod earbuds blocking them from the outside world. One-half pass by without breaking stride, my words trailing behind them like Mom’s “For the fourth time, please take out the trash.” But one-sixth stop to listen politely or with interest to my animated exhortation to “avoid the long lines on Election Day.” Of these, a few sign up for the short ride to the Portage County Board of Elections in Ravenna.

This morning we adopted a new strategy. We are now scheduling them for upcoming trips instead of just trusting the students’, “I’ll come back later.”

“Are you going to class now? When are you free? We leave every hour, on the hour.” I take down first name and cell number so we may text a reminder an hour before the scheduled trip.  This works. We schedule two dozen collegians, with many prospects in play. And one of the students shows me a backroad that cuts my driving time by a third.

Because we have an Obama image on three sides of our van, I must park 100 feet away from the Board of Elections in Ravenna. I lead the students in, and since they have filled out all the paperwork during the ride, the election personnel (all women) process them easily and quickly. I expected a cliché: county employee crankiness. Wrong. All are extraordinarily pleasant and cooperative.

Midway through the day, Matthew Lesko passes by.  He is on campus encouraging students to register.  He tells me his sons are very active in the Obama campaign. Lesko, a truly outrageously original character, is famous for hawking his get free money from government sources books on TV infomercials. Most of the students—obviously late-night tube addicts—recognize Lesko as “that question mark guy.”

The second half of the day is one trip after another, with a completely full day scheduled for Thursday.

While we are watching the MLB playoffs at dinner in Cleveland Heights later that evening, Ann gets up to compliment an unusual Obama pin on a woman in the next booth. Discussion widens to why we are in Ohio, and the lady smiles broadly and gives the bauble to Ann! “I can buy another.”

Sitting back down and admiring the gift, Ann remarks, “Obama brings out the best in people. I am so glad we are doing this.”