UA will not have vote center on campus on Election Day | News

TUCSON, Ariz. – (KVOA) University of Arizona graduate student, Miranda Lopez, spent part of her Friday afternoon getting her fellow students registered to vote.

Lopez is the Arizona Students’ Association Southern Regional Director.

On Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 5, there will not be a vote center on the UA campus. The closest vote center will be First United Methodist Church located at 915 E. 4th St. The church is 800 feet from Old Main. It is adjacent to the main entrance to campus, near where students live and near the Sun Link Streetcar line.

There will be early voting from Oct. 28 – Nov. 1 at the Student Union. Emergency voting will also take place there on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4.

Lopez worries not having an Election Day vote center on campus will dampen turnout.

“This decision is going to result in people not voting,” Lopez said. “It’s going to result in students leaving things to last minute which some students tend to do, thinking they can vote on Tuesday because they’ve been seeing the signs that there’s a voting center in the student union, thinking they can bring it on Tuesday and it’s going to turn out they’re going to have to walk from the student union to the Methodist church and they’re just not going to be able to do it because they have classes, they have work.”

UA Student Body President Adriana Grijalva believes turnout won’t be affected.

“I don’t believe turnout will be smaller as it is not that far from us,” Grijalva said. “We are trying to make sure that there are ways students can get there and it was walking distance. I don’t believe turnout will be smaller.”

Pima County Elections Director Constance Hargrove has worked with university leadership to determine the best vote center location for the UA community.

She argues the church adjacent to campus is the ideal place.

“It’s accessible to those students who live on campus, to commuter students and we just think it’s the best location,” Hargrove said. “I’ve been working with the university on this.”

The ASA plans to hold a news conference Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. on campus to try and get the UA administration and the Pima County Board of Supervisors to get a vote center on campus.

However, Hargrove said that won’t work as the county vote center locations have been finalized.

“That time has passed because we have to put this in our sample ballots,” she said. “The sample ballot deadline was over a week ago.”

Lopez contends if the vote center location cannot be changed, the university administration must be clear with students about what their day-of voting options are.

“Then the U of A administration needs to take a much greater role and make sure students are aware that there’s not going to be a voting center on Election Day,” Lopez said. “And to provide services, something like a golf cart or a van so they {students} don’t get lost or confused.”

University spokesman Mitch Zak said in a statement no student is being deprived of their right to vote. 

“The University of Arizona and the Associated Students of the University of Arizona worked closely with Pima County to ensure students can easily register to vote and to cast their ballots. Aligned with many county election sites, the Student Union will host early and emergency voting. For election day, we are pleased to partner with First United Methodist Church adjacent to campus.”