Milk … eggs … orange juice … vote.

That’s how the grocery lists of area citizens and Iowa State students soon may read.

The Story County Auditor’s Office is setting up satellite-voting stations for upcoming elections at the two Ames Hy-Vee locations, as well as the Memorial Union.

Story County Auditor Judy Emmons said satellite voting is similar to absentee voting, except it is located in places where people commonly go, such as grocery stores or the MU.

Citizens of any town in Story County can vote at the satellite stations. Election Day is Nov. 2, but people can go to one of the satellite-voting locations and vote early without going to the Story County Courthouse in Nevada or submitting an absentee ballot.

Emmons said satellite voting is not a new concept, but this is the first time for the new polling sites at the Hy-Vee stores.

“We’ve had satellite voting for primary and general elections at the public library and city hall for years,” she said.

Emmons said because people may not go to the library or city hall on a regular basis, they are less likely to go there to vote.

“The idea was to move it to a place where somebody would already be, like a grocery store, and the Memorial Union location has always been there for students,” she said.

Monte Streit, manager of Hy-Vee, 640 Lincoln Way, said both store locations agreed to host satellite voting as a service to Ames residents.

“We do several things throughout the year to help the community,” he said. “We try to do anything that would help the community as a whole.”

Streit said he believes having the service at Hy-Vee will be beneficial for Ames and surrounding towns.

“I think that it will make the opportunity for more people to participate in the voting process,” he said.

Emmons also hopes the satellite stations will encourage more participation.

“I’m hoping that more people will vote in this election with this option available,” she said.

Officials from the auditor’s office would like to add more satellites in the future if response to the new Hy-Vee locations is favorable, Emmons said.

“The Hy-Vee managers have been very cooperative in putting this together,” she said. “We really need that cooperation to make something like this work.”

The Story County Auditor’s Office will circulate through the three satellite-voting locations beginning Oct. 18 at the west Hy-Vee, 3800 W. Lincoln Way. The stations will be open at the MU on Oct. 20 in the Sun Room and Oct. 27 in the Great Hall.