Our View

By:

Colleen Buhrer, managing editor

Jason Kosena, assistant campus editor

Willow Welter, visual editor

Liz King, asst. design managing editor

Christopher J. Ortiz, opinion editor

Ask 100 people why they don’t vote and you’ll get 100 different

reasons. Well, Larimer County diminished one of those reasons with

switching from precinct-based voting to a new system where any

registered voter can place a ballot at one of 22 voting centers in

the county, according to a Coloradoan article.

We feel this is a great example of our government working to

increase voting turnout (the move is also necessary by the 2002

Help Americans Vote Act). By changing where citizens can vote, it

makes voting much more accessible.

This new system should allow citizens to vote at ease. People

who do not work close to home can vote during lunch breaks or on

the way to work or home. People do not have to worry about going to

the wrong voting center or try searching the web looking for where

to vote.

We hope this measure encourages people, especially younger

people, to get out and vote. The new system will not affect

absentee or mail ballots (50 percent of the county votes this way

according to the story).

There should not be a long wait at the center since each center

is designed to handle 1,500 to 2,000 voters a day.

Locations of voting centers near campus:

* First Christian Church, 2700 S. Lemay Ave.

* University Park Holiday Inn, 425 W. Prospect Rd.

* Faith Evangelical Free Church, 3920 S Shields St.

We hope this new system gives votes one more reason to vote on

Nov. 4.