Student political groups are trying to step up recruitment and voter registration in preparation for the November elections, and the Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns are also doing their part in keeping these potential voters up-to-date.

Ches McDowell, communication director for N.C. State Students for McCain and vice-chair of the College Republicans, said Republican presidential candidate John McCain has student organizations in nearly every school in the state.

“Students for McCain is growing pretty rapidly,” he said.

According to McDowell, a senior in political science, each week, two regionally-based members of the McCain campaign host a conference call in which a member of the student group from each school participates.

Every event that happens at a certain school is planned with help from other school leaders, he said.

While McDowell said the group would like to host more rallies, it is not always possible.

“It’s hard to have an event for a candidate without the candidate being there,” he said.

McDowell said if McCain were to come to North Carolina, it is likely he would choose NCSU as a destination.

Drew Wall, president of Students for Barack Obama and senior in history education, said he has been planning a campus visit from Kal Penn, of Harold and Kumar fame, who will likely campaign for Obama in the coming weeks.

But many other Obama supporters spent the weekends holding their cell phones, as the campaign sent a 3 a.m. text message Saturday to announce Obama’s vice-presidential pick, Sen. Joe Biden.

“I signed up for the text messages with the Obama campaign months ago, so I’ve been getting steady updates for everything that’s been going on within the campaign,” Lauren Gayden, a junior in chemistry, said.

Candidates have used the Internet and cell phones as a way to communicate with potential voters.

Obama chose to let supporters know about his choice of Biden by text message to make the campaign focused on the “American people,” Wall said.

According to McDowell, Facebook has also been a key tool in recruiting new group members.

After learning of Obama’s vice-presidential pick through text, Gayden and Wall said they were pleased.

McDowell said results could be mixed.

“Joe Biden was an excellent choice politically because Obama needed experience on the ticket,” he said.

Biden helps Obama, according to McDowell, because he has much more foreign policy experience than Obama.

But, McDowell said, Biden made negative comments about Obama during the primary campaign.

“Going for balance on the ticket is a big strategy,” he said.

For McCain’s vice-presidential pick, McDowell said balance would also help.

If voters are concerned about McCain’s age — 71, getting a younger candidate could help balance the ticket, he said.