If a credit union offers voter registration and the law doesn't allow the registrars to hand out literature from a candidate who's a good friend of credit unions, for example, why bother?

Some credit unions that participated in voter registration efforts leading up to this year's election said that it may pay off in a number of ways. Indeed, a sampling showed that while most had different approaches, all confirmed it was worth the effort.

Registration was open to any U.S. citizen meeting state and local requirements. However, many of those walking up to the registration tables were credit union members. From that viewpoint, boosting the percentage of members who are registered voters provides groups such as CUNA and state leagues with additional political clout, experts say.