Collegiate Times

Key changes to polling locations and new voter guidelines are to streamline Election Day procedures.

With a large turnout expected for the Nov. 3 elections, which center around the gubernatorial election between Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell, officials hope students have prepared accordingly to ensure a smooth process.

According to Randy Wertz, general registrar for Montgomery County, most voting locations in Montgomery County have remained the same except for one location that hosts Virginia Tech students.

"The biggest difference between this year and the previous was that last year was a federal election," Wertz said. "Everything will stay the same this year, except for the E-1 precinct, which includes Tech students."

The E-1 precinct's voting location has been moved from St. Michael's Lutheran Church on Merrimac Road, to Kipps Elementary on Prices Fork Road.

Wertz said this year's voting locations would be more accommodating for a large turnout.

"We'll have more parking," Wertz said. "The room we're using in Kipps Elementary will be much larger."

Members of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets are helping bring order to the voting process.

"We're going to have assistance from 100 members of the corps of cadets," Wertz said. "They help people find parking and help disabled voters in case they need to vote curbside. They will be scattered all throughout the precincts in the Blacksburg area."  

Wertz said Montgomery County expects a 50 to 60 percent voter turnout for the gubernatorial elections.

Last year, many on Tech's campus were confused about voting locations and the time it took to vote. Wertz said his office received over 8,000 new voter registrations last year.

The influx of registered voters caused congestion at certain student polling locations, such as St. Michael's Church. Wertz said, "most people got through in about 15 to 20 minutes," even with the congestion.

Voters will have the opportunity to elect statewide officials such as the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, as well as local offices like Blacksburg Town Council.

Deadlines for voter registration and change of address have passed, but students can still register to vote absentee if they are registered to vote elsewhere in Virginia.

According to the Virginia State Board of Elections Web site, "Absentee voting in person begins approximately 45 days before a November General Election and approximately 30 days before other elections and ends on the Saturday before the election."

The deadline to vote absentee is Oct. 27, meaning that a student's designated registrar must receive his absentee ballot by this date. The deadline to vote absentee in person is Oct. 31, but students must go to the registrar's office where they are registered and vote in person.

Brittany Anderson, director of government affairs for SGA, said students do not all have the same voting location.

"This year the voting locations have been divided up," Anderson said. "The corps of cadets vote at a different location than new dorms and Hillcrest."

There is no on-campus voting location this year.

"The biggest challenges have been that students thought they had to vote in person if they registered by mail," Anderson said. "The law was changed."

An exception was made for students allowing them the opportunity to vote absentee even if their first-time voter registration was by mail.

The SGA office in Squires Student Center offers applications for absentee ballots and it will mail in the application free of charge.