Early Voting Available on Campus

While it will still be more than two weeks before initial

election results surface, voting has already begun at CSU.

The Early Voting Office on campus, Lory Student Center room 176,

is one of the five early voting centers in Fort Collins for Larimer

County voters.

Marti Hoge, a graduate student studying political science, cast

her ballot early at the university site because of time constraints

and the practicality of the booth’s location.

“If early voting was not offered on campus, I wouldn’t have

voted early. However, I still would have voted on Nov. 2,” Hoge

said.

The process of early voting is the same as voting on Election

Day. Voters must bring a valid driver’s license, state-issued

identification, U.S. passport or military card and must be

registered to vote in Larimer County.

However, unlike Election Day, the early voting process should

not take more than 10 minutes, said Nancy Lubinski, CSU’s early

voting supervisor.

Early voting also allows for a more relaxed atmosphere.

“If someone hasn’t updated their address, or is experiencing

other problems with voting, they can fill out a provisional ballot

and vote at the same time,” Lubinski said.

Provisional ballots are put in a separate envelope from other

ballots and are sent to the Larimer County Courthouse, where it is

determined if the voter is eligible to vote. If that person is

eligible, the vote is counted.

This is the first year CSU is providing early voting centers,

but early voting in the county has been around since last year.

More than 32 states are offer early voting.

Some students appreciate the accessibility of early voting on

campus. Chelsea Berns, a senior zoology major, did not know when

she would have time to vote if she could not do it on campus.

“It was nice that it was on campus because I get here at 7 in

the morning and leave here at 10 o’clock at night,” Berns said.

Turnout for early voting on campus has not yet been very high,

Lubinski said.

“Compared to some of the other early voter sites in Fort

Collins, (turnout) is light,” Lubinski said. “Usually you don’t

have too many lines in early voting.”

Breakout: The Early Voting Office, located in Lory Student

Center room 176, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday.

The five early voting offices are open 10 days before the primary

election and four days before the general election. For more

information visit

http://www.co.larimer.co.us/elections/index.htm.