Students registered to vote in Pima County don’t have to go far to cast a vote for this year’s election thanks to a voting station in the ASUA office at SUMC.
The voting station will be manned by employees from the Pima County voting office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday until Nov. 2. Students are required to bring a document that proves their residency in Arizona.
ASUA has been making the voting station available during election years since 2004, when the idea was put into motion by then Associated Student of the University of Arizona President Gilbert Davidson. ASUA thought that not only students, but also the staff at the UA and the Tucson community as a whole could use the voting station, said ASUA President Katy Murray.
The Arizona Students’ Association collaborated with ASUA to get the voting station in the ASUA offices, and it was opened this year on Monday. Murray said more and more students are using it every day.
ASA and ASUA went to the weekly ASUA Senate meeting a few weeks back to get the station approved. Senate members said they were interested in the voting booth because it went along with the efforts ASA was making to get students to go out and vote, explained Sen. Valerie Hanna.
“We can try to get students to vote as much as we can, but if they don’t have a way to do it and they don’t know how to vote, then it’s kind of pointless,” Sen. Hanna said. “In the end, it’s all about getting students to actually vote.”
Some members of ASA also agreed that having the booth on campus would further efforts to increase student-voter numbers.
“I think what we’re hoping to accomplish by having a voter booth on campus right now for early voting is to encourage students to vote, because I know around Nov. 6 it can get busy,” said ASA Board of Directors Jordan King. “Right now is a really good time to come cast your vote, so that way on the actual voter day, you’re not going to become overwhelmed or forget to vote.”
Early ballots that are received in the mail can also be turned in at the voting booth.
