Early Voting and How ASU Students Away From Home Can Vote

SAN ANGELO, TX - The Presidential election has been one of the hottest topic of discussion for quite a while now. Heated debates are sparked by just hearing the name of one candidate.

There is no doubt that this election will heavily influence America, but don’t let all the heated debated be only talk. Only casting a vote will help your candidate come out on top.

Early voting for the presidential election began today. Now, for students attending Angelo State University, you may have a few questions on how to vote outside of your registered county, because your vote does count.

For anyone who is outside of their current registered voting district, a limit ballot option is available. The only downside to the limit ballot option is that it must be done during the early voting period.

The early voting location for Tom Green County is the Edd B. Keyes Building, 113 W. Beauregard Ave., first floor.  

Dates and hours for early voting polls include:

• Oct. 24 - 28: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 29: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Oct. 30: 12:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m.
• Oct. 31 – Nov. 4: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vana Hudson, Elections Administrator, explained, “There is an option for people who are registered somewhere in the state of Texas, who have not gotten registered in our county. If they want to vote in person and change their registration, they can come into early voting only, and vote what’s called a limited ballot. [The limited ballot] will register them in our county and allow them to vote for the things that are in common in our two counties.”

The limit ballot option is not the only choice that the voting public must choose. People who wish to vote in the presidential election can also do a ballot by mail request.

“If [people] want to maintain their registration where it is, somewhere else in the state, then they need to do a ballot by mail request for having a ballot sent to them here,” Hudson said.

If someone chooses to send in a ballot by mail request, it must be sent to the early voting clerk of the county they are registered in. To be able to vote in this presidential election, the mail in ballot request must be sent to the registered county by Friday, Oct. 28.

If ASU students are registered to vote in Tom Green County, the closest voting booth will be located at St. Luke United Methodist Church, 2781 W. Ave. N.

ASU President Brian May explained why a voting poll is not located on the ASU campus. He said that to be able to host a voting poll place, “you have to have a very large barrier that people cannot come into. Also, you have to provide quite a bit of parking for people to come into.”

May continued to explain, “Our situation is, [for] the bulk of our students, the [voting] location is usually so near that it isn’t an imposition [for students to go vote]. For us to have a barrier and provide parking for voters in town would probably be problematic for both [voters and students].”

Election day polling places on Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. include:

• Angelo Bible Church, 3506 Sherwood Way
• Belmore Baptist Church, 1214 South Bell
• Calvary Baptist Church, 2401 Armstrong St.
• Christoval Community Center, 20022 Main, Christoval, TX 76935
• Community Medical Center, 3501 Knickerbocker Rd.
• Concho Valley Transit District (Bus Depot), 501 North Chadbourne
• First Assembly of God, 1442 Edmund Blvd.
• Grape Creek ISD, 8207 US Hwy 87
• Keating Paint and Body, 5050 North Chadbourne
• MHMR, 1501 W. Beauregard
• Paulann Baptist Church, 2531 Smith Blvd.
• San Angelo Public Housing Authority, 420 East 28th St.
• Segunda Iglesia Bautista, 510 W Avenue T
• Southgate Church of Christ, 528 Country Club Road
• Southland Baptist Church, 4300 Meadow Creek
• St Luke United Methodist Church, 2781 W Avenue N St.
• Ambrose Catholic Church, 8602 Loop 570 Wall 76959
• TxDOT 4502, Knickerbocker Rd Bldg E
• Veribest Baptist Church, 50 FM 2334, Veribest, TX 76886
• Wesley Trinity United Methodist Church, 301 West 18th
• West Texas Rehab, 1925 University