North Texas Daily

Steven James / Staff Writer

As the first day of early voting for the Texas gubernatorial race, draws nearer, UNT’s Student Government Association will be placing a voting booth on campus for students who are not able to travel off campus to vote.

Early voting begins Oct. 20. The voting booth will be in Sycamore Hall 142 Oct. 27- 31 7 a.m.- 7 p.m.

SGA has hosted and co-sponsored many voting events in the past. Last month, Alpha Phi Alpha hosted the Kerr Beach Voter Registration Drive, at which more than 300 people registered. SGA helped with services at the drive.

Director of Marketing Aaron Presley said SGA will also be working with campus Democratic and Republican parties and the university to put more voting tables around campus.

In addition to giving students more access to voting, SGA is also helping people register to keep UNT Title IV accredited, which offers institutions of higher learning grant and loan funding for students, according to the Texas Workforce Commission’s website.

Among the many requirements to keep the Title IV funding, UNT must promote voting and voter registration, an effort that SGA leads.

Those who do not want to wait for the voting booth to arrive on campus can go to different locations around Denton County to register and to vote. Those locations include Corinth City Hall, The Colony Government Center and Frisco Fire Station #7. People can also apply for registration on the Vote Denton website.

Presley said that emails and posters will be sent out as time gets closer to the instillation of the voting booth.

“I think it’s going to be huge moving forward, both at a university level, as well as a state government level,” he said. “Any given day, we have 20,000 people on this campus. And, if there’s a location where they can just walk to and vote, it’s much easier for everyone.”

Physics and Spanish senior William Snyder said that he is registered to vote in Dallas, but not Denton, but said he wants to see the booth on campus for

“I think this could increase voter turnout rate,” Snyder said. “Elementary schools have places to vote, so it only makes sense that a college would do it.”

English sophomore Patrick Schaab, who is registered to vote in Denton, said he believes if people are registered, they should vote, and this booth will give registered students no excuse.

“Sometimes, people use the excuse of saying, ‘I have to walk all the way to city hall’ to avoid voting,” he said. “Here in the states, we have a unique say in what goes on in government. It’s a way of being a citizen in this country.”