The U.S Supreme Court recently ruled to uphold the Texas Voter Law that will affect the upcoming November elections. The new law has changed the accepted forms of identification, stating that only certain types of identification will be accepted in to vote. Personal ids, drivers licenses, birth certificates, U.S. citizenship papers, a U.S passport, ... [Read More…]
Voter registration ends Monday
Registration to vote in the upcoming statewide election ends Monday. The Taylor County general election will take place Nov. 4 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters can choose to participate in early voting instead from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31. This year, Taylor County is implementing voting centers. This countywide polling system will allow registered ... [Read More…]
Texas Secretary of State speaks on voting law
Texas Secretary of State John Steen briefly visited the university while attending an election education event in Abilene. While on campus he attended Chapel, ate lunch with President Phil Schubert and toured the AT&T Learning Studio. Steen said Alicia Pierce ('02), communications director for the Office of the Secretary of State, ... [Read More…]
Local voters refuse student poll because of endorsement
The Optimist Editorial Board's endorsement of President Obama was mistakenly seen as an endorsement by ACU by many readers. Some local residents, after reading or hearing about the endorsement, refused to answer election poll questions from ACU students working on a class project. Dr. Lynette Sharp Penya, associate professor of communication, is ... [Read More…]
Voter proud to talk about election
The unspoken rule of voting polls is not to discuss which way you voted.  Or at least this was the unspoken decree at Hillcrest Church of Christ on Election Day. Suspense was tangible in the air as voters of all ages passed through the church's Multi-Purpose Room. After several voters declined to comment, Shayli Reed broke the ice. Reed, a ... [Read More…]
Local voter finds candidates stronger than previous election
Jordan Rice, 24, has voted in one election before Tuesday. He can't recall the ballot he cast in the last presidential election while still in his hometown of Big Spring. "I voted for an independent whose name I can't remember four years later," Rice said. "The Republicans didn't have a great candidate and I didn't believe in Obama's politics, so ... [Read More…]
Student nearly doesn’t vote, then does
She almost didn't vote. Sara Bunch, second-year graduate speech pathology student from Sugarland, said she felt apathetic this election season - the third year she has been eligible to vote. Reflecting on Jesus' last prayer for his disciples - division, plain and simple, is what nearly kept Bunch from voting. "The mission of Christ is to be ... [Read More…]
Kenley teacher brings students to polling station
Marla Diaz shows up to the University Church parking lot in a van carrying a group of around 10 kids from Kenley School in Abilene. Diaz teaches at Kenley and does not want to pass up an opportunity to make voting "real" for her students. After getting a tour, the kids come back out of the church gym giggling. "I want to set an example and ... [Read More…]
Local mother votes for first time in 12 years
By Katie Cukrowski Responding to pressure from her grandmother to vote, young mother Beth Purcell cast her ballot at University Church of Christ on Election Day. "I wasn't really happy with any of the choices, but I [still voted]." The first time she voted was in 2000, when George W. Bush elected for the first time. And she hadn't voted since ... [Read More…]
Voting for the first time
Ashlee Spann, freshman biology major from Wichita Falls, walked out of the Hillcrest Church of Christ polling place Tuesday morning after voting for the first time. 19-year-old Spann said she was excited and a little nervous when she walked into the polling place in the Multi-Purpose Room of the church. She said she didn't know what to expect when ... [Read More…]