TEMPE – Arizona State University will get its first polling place in history, allowing students to remain on campus to cast their ballot in the November election.
ASU’s Undergraduate Student Government worked with the university as well as with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office to provide the polling location on the Tempe campus to encourage students to vote. On Nov. 8, registered voters who live on campus will go to the Maroon Gym at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex.
Brandon Bishop, president of the student government association, said the group lobbied for the polling place to make voting easier and more accessible for students.
“They have extremely busy schedules,” Bishop said. “We wanted to work to ensure that students had access to vote so that they could become civically engaged.”
Millennials, not baby boomers, now make up the largest living generation according to the Pew Research Center. Getting young adults to the polls is a priority for both parties.
“It makes it a lot more convenient for people fighting their daily class schedules and work schedules,” Kenneth Clark, an ASU student, said. “I think it would be a great benefit to the young voters who are represented here at ASU.”
Bishop said the association allocated a budget of $15,000 to provide the campus polling location. He says the Graduate Student Association will also contribute financially.
“I hope we see an increase in student voting,” Bishop said. “I also hope that this will be something that not only do we have this year but every two years for every election.”