By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor
Election Day is scheduled for Nov. 4, but some ACU students wanted to cast their ballots early in the Campus Center Monday afternoon. Forty-nine students, faculty and staff members lined up to vote in the five mobile voting booths that were available from 10 a.m. to noon.
Monday’s voter turnout dwarfed the number of students who participated in early voting on campus two years ago for the midterm election. Only six people voted in 2006 compared to the 49 who voted Monday.
“It was great compared to years before,” said election worker Patsy Smith. “We’ve been here several times. And we’ve come out here before, and nobody even knew where we were supposed to be.”
Jared Perkins, freshman political science major from Waco, also helped voters cast their ballots. “It’s the largest turnout we’ve had since we’ve been doing mobile voting at ACU,” Perkins said. “I think it shows the significance of the election and the impact that the youth vote can have if they really come out and start voting.” both Smith and Perkins credit the voter turnout to the publicity of this year’s presidential election and the advertising of the campus mobile voting booths. Recent issues such as a struggling economy may have influenced more students to take a trip to the
polls, Perkins said.
“I think over the past eight years, we’ve realized that a president does make a large impact,” Perkins said. “If we can choose our next president, we can help decide some of the policies that they make and how they affect us.” Monday’s event was the only opportunity for students to cast their ballot early on campus. If students still wish to participate in early voting, several places are offered around Abilene where they can vote until Oct. 31. The Taylor County Plaza on Oak Street, the Books A Million in the Mall of Abilene, the Hastings on South 14th Street, the K-Mart on South 1st Street and the United Supermarket on North Judge Ely Boulevard will all have early voting available for the next two weeks. Hours for all locations except the Taylor County Plaza will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. this week.
Taylor County Plaza hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Next week, the hours for the locations will change to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
