Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech student and artist Jeremy Diamond (left) watches Monday as fellow Virginia Tech Young Democrats put one of the T-shirts he designed on a cardboard cutout of Sen. Barack Obama.

Rock the Vote disc jockey Aaron James starts the music Monday with a "summer cruise mix" as Rock the Vote staffer and blogger Nick Brown looks on. The tour bus is making a national tour, focusing on battleground states.

Amanda Eckerson (right), a staff member with Rock the Vote, dances with a cardboard cutout of Sen. John McCain displayed by Dale Dye, the Southwest Virginia regional political director for College Republicans.

Virginia Tech senior Shemeka Neville, a volunteer with the Rock the Vote tour, urges fellow students Monday to register to vote. She also offers cookies to help attract attention to the registration drive.

Tech sophomore William French of Maurertown fills out an application Monday for an absentee ballot with the help of Rock the Vote staffer Kim Rogers in the group's bus.

BLACKSBURG -- A small island of grass next to the Virginia Tech Drillfield became the center of a national youth voter registration effort Monday.

The Rock the Vote bus made Blacksburg one of the first stops on its national tour to register young people around the country to vote in the November elections. The nonpartisan group based in Washington was joined by leaders from Tech's student government, Young Democrats, College Republicans and Students for Obama chapter.

"Regardless of who you support, this is a good thing," said Dan Geroe, president of Tech's Young Democrats.

The Rock the Vote visit came just a few weeks after an inaccurate news release from the office of Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz warned that registering to vote in Montgomery County could affect students' tax dependency status. Wertz, who said the Aug. 25 release was written by an intern, sent out a more moderate version two days later. He said he was just trying to clarify the issue, and hasn't challenged any student voters who list their college address as their residence since he became registrar in 2004.

Still, he received criticism from Barack Obama campaign officials and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. It also drew national media attention, and on Sept. 8 the State Board of Elections announced that college students are free to list their dormitory or college residence as their home when registering to vote. The New York Times ran an article about the controversy that same day that caught the attention of Rock the Vote organizers.

"When the article was published, we knew that Blacksburg was a stop that had to be made," said Rock the Vote spokesman Sam Orlando.

The specifics of the tour are still developing, but stops in Charlottesville and Richmond are scheduled for today, followed by Annandale on Wednesday, said Heather Smith, the organization's executive director. The bus will then head to Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Organizers said the group has already registered 1.5 million voters across the country this year and hopes to reach 2 million. The deadline for registering to vote in Virginia is Oct. 6.

The organization was formed 18 years ago to politically engage young people with the help of musicians and other entertainers. This is Rock the Vote's second presidential election bus tour. Smith said there's "a political youth movement exploding in our country," and it's important to make sure nothing hinders it.

"When misinformation is put out there, it confuses an already confusing process," she said.

Smith was on campus for Monday's visit and had planned to speak briefly to introduce Max Kennedy, son of former senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Max Kennedy couldn't attend, however, and organizers focused their time on registering students, playing music and occasionally announcing their presence, rather than speeches.

"Come over here!" disc jockey Aaron James screamed into the microphone in between songs. "Make yourself heard! This is the most historic election of your lifetime!"

Students shuffled by on their way to class, and some of them stopped by to register or talk with one of the student political groups. The Students for Obama and Young Democrats were noticeably busier, selling Obama T-shirts and handing out stickers. But Carlin Crowder, president of the College Republicans, said hundreds of supporters for John McCain have stopped by at various events this fall to sign up with the organization and have their picture taken with a cardboard cutout of the Arizona senator.

"People go crazy for it," he said.

Crowder echoed Geroe's sentiment that getting students to register, no matter what their allegiances, is important. At least one student who plans to vote for McCain went on the Rock the Vote bus and filled out a form to vote. William French, a sophomore from Shenandoah County, said he will vote with an absentee ballot. He thinks Obama supporters are more vocal, but there are plenty of students on campus who plan to vote for McCain.

SGA President Emily Mashack said Virginia's newfound status as a swing state is creating excitement on campus. The organization has registration forms and absentee ballots for every state in its office.

"The student government wants as many students to get out there and vote as possible," she said. "We want to see Virginia Tech come out big in this election."