The Auburn Student Government Association approved the addition of an on-campus polling location for local, state and federal elections at its first fall senate meeting on Monday night, which was held over Zoom as a precaution.
Hannah Krawczyk, senior in political science and execute director of Auburn Justice Coalition, started the meeting with a presentation on the importance of having a polling location on campus.
“We’ve been working on trying to get this polling location for about two years now, so tonight is a very exciting night for us,” Krawczyk said.
Krawczyk highlighted two big reasons for the need for a campus polling location: alleviation and civic engagement. The Clarion Inn on South College Street, one of the polling locations in the Auburn area, sees lines out of its parking lot on voting days with only 120 parking spots.
“There’s a lot of administrative pressure on other polling locations in the area,” Krawczyk said. “So, we recognize there’s a greater community need for another polling location.”
The second reason was furthering Auburn’s commitment to civic learning engagement, and providing a space for Auburn’s students to get involved and have their voice heard. Krawczyk mentioned that Gov. Kay Ivey is also the president of the University Board of Trustees.
“We recognize that Auburn University in general has a lot of say in Alabama politics because of that,” Krawczyk said. “The students here have a lot of power and voice when they vote.”
Krawczyk also mentioned other reasons for the polling location, such as their presence in Auburn’s peer institutions like Clemson University and Virginia Tech, the constitutional right students have to vote at their place of university residence and the fact that the location wouldn’t be violating any of Alabama’s election codes.
One concern Krawczyk brought up was the issue of parking, the logistics of which would be figured out by administration after the vote. Krawzyk emphasized that even then, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to work something out.
“I worked in the Coliseum, and I know for gamedays, for example, we have the infrastructure to figure this out,” Krawczyk said.
She also pointed out that the polling location’s on-campus presence would reduce the need for cars for those who live on or close to campus. Voting locations are geographically based, so if someone didn’t live on or close to campus they could be assigned to another location in a different ward. The addition of the on-campus location also wouldn’t remove any other location.
As for where the polling location would actually be, Krawczyk said their first choice would be Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, as it is the most accessible for those living on campus and in the community.
The resolution was adopted quickly with no debates, but there were some messages of support from senators.
“Freshmen, when they come to campus, honestly probably don’t know Auburn or the surrounding area,” said Molly Sullivan, senior in health administration and at-large senator. “If they have a chance to vote on campus they’re more likely to go, because they won’t have to go get their car if it’s parked far away or figure out how to use the transit system.”
The next steps following the adoption are further communication with faculty senate and working with the Lee County Commission to get a polling place established for the next election cycle.
“The legal election code says 90 days out, and that was Aug. 5,” Krawczyk said. “Which is not a big deal: once it becomes institutionalized and a part of the Auburn culture, then it’s there, and we have time to work out all the logistics.”
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