The only early voting location in Tempe is seeing a “very high turnout overall” for this midterm election, Undergraduate Student Government officials said.
USG Chief of Staff James Baumer said the on-campus polling site at Palo Verde West has received hundreds of voters for the general election since it opened Oct. 7.
“This is only the fourth time the polling site is being used, so we don’t have much to compare it to,” Baumer said. “We do know that it’s a couple hundred at least.”
The polling location was first used in 2009 for the Tempe City Council elections, and USG reported only about 30 ballots being cast. The turnout climbed for the Proposition 100 special election in May, with USG reporting more than 600 ballots cast.
Official early voting numbers for this election will be available Friday, on the last day of early voting.
This summer, the Maricopa County Elections Department approved USG’s request to make the polling location permanent, meaning it will be used in all future elections.
“Because of the high turnout with Proposition 100 in May, as proof that the polling location would be highly used, the proposal was approved,” said Michael Wong, USG’s vice president of policy. “This polling location will be there for every election in the future.”
The site had the highest number of early ballots in all of Maricopa County during the special election in May when voters considered Proposition 100, Baumer said.
“Early voting is a way for students to vote that is easy for them,” Baumer said. “It allows students to vote at their pleasure, whereas on Election Day they may not be able to go.”
He said it can be difficult for students to vote on Election Day because of strict identification rules. Those voting on Election Day must have a driver’s license or two other forms of identification in order to vote.
“Students are such a transient population with addresses changing all the time,” Baumer said, noting that students will not be allowed to vote on Election Day if the address on their driver’s license does not match the address polling locations have on record.
“All you have to do for early voting is prove that you’re registered to vote in Maricopa County, and you’ll be able to vote,” he said.
Criminal justice junior Adrian Herrera said while the early voting location in Tempe is a positive way to get students to vote, it would helpful if every campus had one.
“I live in Avondale, so it’s a 45-minute drive to Tempe,” Herrera said. “But if it’s only in Tempe, you have to do what you can to make it easier to vote if you can’t go on Tuesday.”
He said he plans to vote on Nov. 2, and that other students should do the same.
“The way that this state is, with what happened with Senate Bill 1070, it’s important for students to have their voices heard,” he said.
The location at Palo Verde West is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any voter registered in Maricopa County can vote early at that location.
The last day for early voting is Oct. 29.
To find out where to vote on Election Day, which is Nov. 2, students can go to recorder.maricopa.gov and click on elections and voter information to find the voting location nearest to them.
Reach the reporter at ymgonzal@asu.edu
