SGA approves measure to create voting facility on campus
By Dan O'Brien, Collegian Staff
December 9, 2005
The University of Massachusetts Student Government Association overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday to allocate funds for a centralized voting facility to be located in the center of the Amherst campus.
"This program is the first time nationwide where students have said 'it is so important for us to vote that we are willing to buy the equipment to do so.' That says something really exciting about students at UMass, and it makes me proud to be a student here," said Morris Singer, a UMass student and member of the Amherst Town Meeting.
The exact location of the polling place is not yet known. However, the new location would be a far more convenient place to vote for students who live on campus. The current polling places for on-campus students are located at the New Africa House in the Central Residential Area of UMass, Kellogg Avenue in Amherst Center, Strong Street in Amherst and two North Amherst locations.
The new location would allow students to vote in a centralized location, where most students conduct daily activities, such as attending classes at the university.
"By increasing opportunities for students to vote on-campus, we will be able to put greater pressure on the legislature to increase funding for UMass and other public colleges and universities across the state," said Elvis Mendez, who works for the Student Center for Educational Research and Advocacy (SCERA) at UMass.
Before the SGA measure is passed, it must be signed by UMass Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life Michael Gargano.
"I'm really looking forward to working with town officials and the vice chancellor of student affairs to make this a reality," Singer said.
Singer easily passed one hurdle to getting the voting booths installed during Monday night's Amherst Town Select Board meeting. The motion at the meeting was to establish the polling place pending funding from the SGA.
Singer originally asked the board to sign a resolution that would approve the project "pending allocation approval from the [UMass] SGA."
Amherst Town Clerk Anna M. Maciaszek opposed this aspect of the proposal, because she said if the university decided not to fund their end of the project, then the town would have to pay for the entire project under federal law.
Members of the board also suggested drafting a letter to university officials stating their full support of the voting booth project.
The SGA vote will allocate $57,564 for the new voting booths.
There was only one dissenting vote.
The Republican newspaper of Springfield recently extended its support to the measure. The paper congratulated the Citizens for Electoral Participation for pushing the issue.
"If the Select Board approves the new polling place, students could cast votes in the 2006 election on their way to and from classes. We think it's a fine way to encourage students to participate in the political process," the Republican wrote in an editorial on Oct. 11.
Due to a slew of concerns stemming from the 2000 presidential election and other occurrences, federal law now prohibits certain types of voting machines. Newly constructed voting booths and machines will be used if the UMass voting plan passes.
The new voting booth would be a "UA Poll Master 1," which is described as a "high impact, heavy-duty plastic case ... [with] florescent light, aluminum legs with stabilizer bars." The booth can fold into a suitcase and carries a five year warranty from the manufacturer if there are any problems.
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Copyright Daniel O�Brien and the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. This article may not be redistributed without written permission under United States law.