Students can cast their votes for the midterm elections nearly two weeks ahead of time at the Memorial Union. 

Typically, early votes can only be cast at a courthouse or local auditor’s office, but county auditors can designate certain locations valid voting sites for a limited amount of time. In this case, the doors of the Colonel Pride Veterans’ Lounge will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this week for all Ames residents to cast their vote. 

Voting at the Memorial Union will be easier for students this week than closer to the election. It’s still the pre-registration period, which means unregistered voters don’t have to show proof of residency, they need only sign an affidavit confirming their identity. For voters wanting to cast a ballot and register to vote all on election day — Nov. 6 — they will have to show proof of residency. 

Students can get this proof from the Voter Registration tab on AccessPlus.

Iowa State officials at the Memorial Union worked with Story County Auditor, Lucy Martin, to organize the early voting.  

“It’s really good for first time voters to have a central place for information,” Martin said. “Iowa State is so big and there’s so many students. We can’t talk to everyone, and this gives them an opportunity to come to us.” 

Martin coordinated with Memorial Union officials over multiple election cycles in the past. Iowa State students voted in the same lounge room during the 2016 presidential election.

“We’ve been doing this for years,” said Seth Dohrn, event manager for the Memorial Union. 

Iowa State is federal property, so when Martin requested space for voting the university had to comply. However, university officials are more than happy to participate in this process.

“It’s a good way to encourage voter turnout,” Dohrn said. “We really enjoy working with our public entities and encouraging active participation in the political actions.”

Martin has made it a habit to ensure Iowa State offers early voting, and many of her constituents share her enthusiasm for the political process. The local chapter of NextGen America, a national political activism group, offered Martin a petition with 220 signatures in case she didn’t green light the process. 

“We want to see every student vote,” said Mara Kealey, Ames field organizer for NextGen America. 

Kealey graduated from Iowa State in May with a bachelor’s in history and political science. 

“If you’re a student that’s 18 and an American citizen, you get to vote in these elections,” Kealey said. “Some might live out of state, but they live here. They get their mail here and they can vote here.”

NextGen America registered more than 2,000 Ames residents to vote this year, and have registered more than 14,000 Iowans across the state.

Taylor Blair, president of ISU College Democrats, personally reached out to Martin to make sure the voting was going to be available. 

“[Martin] is really good about doing this each election,” Blair said. “It’s really important for groups like NextGen to organize petitions, but thankfully we didn’t really need one this time.” 

Blair is excited for the upcoming election, and encourages all students to vote, even if they feel skeptical about the process.

“Bad politicians succeed when people think their vote doesn’t matter,” Blair said. “Lower voter turnout means lower representation in our democracy.” 

Correction: The first version of this article said NextGen gathered more than 500 signatures for their petition. On Oct. 21 at 8:06 p.m. that figure was corrected to 220.