Rosario Dawson taking a break from acting to promote voter participation

I have to admit, I really love election season. Not just for the politics – in fact I’d be making myself sound much deeper than I really am if I said that was a big part of it. I like that it adds a new layer to celebrity news. Instead of hearing about Paris Hilton’s shoe collection, we can write about Paris’ political leanings. Alright that particular example doesn’t work, as Paris only recently learned that we’ve been in a war for the past couple years.

But some celebs use their fame to promote good causes. And that’s something I’m a big fan of. Actress Rosario Dawson is taking a season off from working in order to get voters to the polling booths. Rosario is currently working on two films but will be wrapped by the fall, and has passed on all other projects until after the election.

"I decided I'm not going to be working at all through the fall," the actress – who'll be seen in Eagle Eye with Shia LaBoeuf and Seven Pounds with Will Smith – told PEOPLE. Instead, she plans to work at voter drives across the country sponsored by her non-profit Voto Latino.

"We're targeting the Latin youth vote," said Dawson, 28. "There's 18 million [people who] are eligible. But we are not showing that up in votes. So our numbers aren't counting. When you actually work with local organizations – that makes the biggest impact, and that's what I want to be a part of."

Dawson (who admits she didn’t vote for president until 2004, the same year she started Voto Latino) will be at both Democratic and Republican conventions as part of her efforts to reach young Latinos.

"The reason why I co-founded Voto Latino is because of my mom," she told the crowd in D.C. "It's because of my grandmother. It's because I was raised to do it yourself. You want that to be better? You do it yourself."

[From People]

My first reaction to the part about Rosario not voting the same year she started Voto Latino was that it wasn’t all that smart to admit to it. But I think it actually makes her more accessible to the people she’s trying to target. She’s aiming for those that haven’t been voting, and it lets her honestly say “Look, I know where you’re coming from, I didn’t think one vote mattered either.” Presumably she’ll be setting a great example by voting in a few months. Good for her for really getting out there, seeing a problem, and actively doing something to combat it.

Here’s Rosario introducing Voto Latino's 'Crash the Parties '08 campaign in Washington DC on Tuesday. Images thanks to WENN.