With election season in full swing, the city of Tempe will continue its annual partnership with ASU to provide an early voting location for the upcoming city election.
ASU will host a polling place in Room 181 of the Palo Verde West residence hall, located on the north side of the University’s Tempe campus. The site will open Wednesday.
Associated Students of ASU Coordinator Jaime Ingrisano said the partnership was important for both the University and the city.
“This is an opportunity to increase civic engagement in Tempe,” she said.
ASU will cover the costs to operate the polling place, including staffing and security and provide parking spaces, according to city documents. The total expense will be around $2,500.
Ingrisano said the funding comes from Tempe Undergraduate Student Government’s budget every. This year, Tempe USG’s budget allocates $25,000 to voter outreach and civic engagement.
Tempe USG Vice President of Policy Karis Felthouse said early polling is important for allowing students to participate in democracy.
“The beauty of early polling locations is they’re open five days a week during the day for several weeks (before election day)," she said.
Felthouse said students who want to vote may have schedules that make it difficult to vote on election day, but early polling gives them more options.
“You can go at your convenience,” Felthouse said.
ASU biology sophomore Mary Leister said she appreciates the convenience of early voting, especially because she doesn’t have a car.
“It really helps me stay involved, but not have to go through all these crazy channels to get my vote in," she said.
Tempe’s other early voting location is at the Tempe Public Library. Both sites will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, and from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.
Arizona does not allow same-day voter registration. Instead, those who wish to vote must be registered 29 days in advance of the election, according to Arizona election law.
For Tempe’s election, which will take place March 8, the deadline is Monday.
Related Links:
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5 ways to prepare for the coming presidential primaries
Reach the reporter at bmoffat@asu.edu or follow @bmoffatphotos on Twitter.
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