Taking care of two jobs at once; register and cast a ballot today

Erin Payne

Students and faculty wishing to avoid the polls on election day can cast their absentee ballot on campus today.

The Story County Auditor’s Office is holding a Satellite Absentee Voter Station from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Regency Room of the Memorial Union today.

“The purpose is for people to vote or to register to vote,” said Judy Emmons, county auditor and commissioner of elections.

In an attempt to improve voting in the county, Emmons said she is “taking it to them [the voters].” The satellite station gives students an opportunity to register in Story county and vote at the same time. If students are registered to vote at home, but then reregister and vote here, Emmons said the home county is notified.

Emmons said she would like to see more students at the voter station.

“In the past, it’s normally been faculty, not students, who take advantage of it,” she said.

The process of absentee voting is the same as going through the polls, Emmons said.

Voters will fold their ballots and place them in the absentee ballot box instead of putting it in a tabulator.

The votes are then counted on election day after an absentee board determines whether the ballot is valid.

The station is at the MU today because the county wanted to coordinate it with something else at the university. The station picked today to coincide with the appearance of former Texas governor Ann Richards for a fund-raiser and rally for Leonard Boswell, Democratic candidate for U. S. Rep., .

“Hopefully, they will take a few minutes to register and vote,” Emmons said.

She added that the people who staff the voting station aren’t overworked. “I know [last time] we weren’t flooded with people standing in line. I’d like to be busy …”