Concerns were raised about voting resources on Arizona campuses during an Arizona Board of Regents meeting at Northern Arizona University on Sept. 26.
The first ABOR meeting of the academic year was held at the NAU campus where members of the Associated Students of Northern Arizona University made multiple statements about improvements and changes that they want to be made including voting availability at Arizona schools.
“We need our students voting if we want to give funding to our state universities,” Kyle Nitschke, ASA co-executive director, said.
Nitschke addressed the limitations on voting registration at NAU.
“Recently our NAU professors were directed to not allow voter registration in classrooms due to it being a partisan activity. I think that’s something that really needs to be investigated and looked into. That’s not something we’ve seen in the past,” Nitschke said.
During his statement to the board of directors, Nitschke also mentioned his disapproval of the University of Arizona’s voting center being shut down the day before Election Day.
“At [the UA], they’re doing early voting every day leading up to Election Day, but then they’re taking that vote center away on Election Day. We’re worried that it’s going to be very confusing for students,” Nitschke said.
In light of the issues Nitschke brought up surrounding the voting center being shut down, Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Adriana Grijalva clarified voting availability on campus and where students can go to vote.
“We’re doing early voting and emergency voting here at the Student Union, and then we’re also having Election Day voting,” Grijalva said.
Early voting and emergency voting will be available in the Santa Cruz room throughout the rest of October and early November.
The voting center on Election Day will not be in the student center but instead will be in the First United Methodist Church at 915 E. Fourth St., which is about a five-minute walk from campus.
“The Student Union was not cleared because it wasn’t accessible for Election Day with long lines, bathroom, security [and] parking. As for the church, it was only a five-minute walk from Old Main and it was more accessible for those that are in housing,” Grijalva said.
In response to Nitschke’s comments about the voting center, Grijalva said, “It was really disheartening to see somebody that was part of this committee and saw the decisions now feeling that we weren’t making a lot of effort.”
ASA was aware that the UA voting center would not take place on campus but rather right outside of it, and according to Grijalva, a meeting was held before the last ABOR meeting to discuss access.
“ASA had a seat on this so they were part of the conversation,” Grivajla said. “They were aware that the church was the location and got cleared later at the last meeting.”
On Sept. 26, ASU, NAU and UA student body presidents all signed an executive statement concerning voting on Arizona campuses and called on ABOR to join efforts in ensuring Arizona’s students are heard in the voting process.
“As Student Body Presidents across Arizona’s public universities, we collectively recognize the profound importance of amplifying the student voice in our democratic processes,” the letter read. “Through nonpartisan, collaborative initiatives, we stand united in promoting robust voter turnout and empowering students to shape the future of our state and country.”
In preparation for election season, Grijalva said that ASUA has compiled various activities, information sessions and other resources to make voting as accessible as possible for UA students.
“This year has been the most proactive election season we’re seeing in efforts here at the University of Arizona,” Grijalva said.
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