For those who cannot wait until Nov 4., early voting for the 2008 presidential election will begin Monday in Leon county.
The voting sites will be at Leon County Woodville Community Library, Leon County Ft. Braden Library, the northeast branch of the Leon County Public Library, and the Leon County Courthouse rotunda.
Ion Sancho, Leon county supervisor of elections, said the premature voting opportunity is important.
“Early voting occurs early in the voting process so if there are any potential problems, they can be identified early,” Sancho said.
Titus Brown, a FAMU political science professor, said students with hectic schedules should take advantage of early voting.
“Early voting is significant for people who might have a schedule that doesn’t fit well with (polling times) on Nov 4,” Brown said. “By voting early, you can make sure your vote counts for the 2008 elections.”
Mario Henderson, 21, political science student from Daytona Beach and member of the FAMU Voter Coalition, encourages his classmates to vote early to avoid possible problems.
“If there is any problems with the registration or anything you have related to voting it can be corrected. If you wait until Nov. 4 and there’s any problems you’re going to be out of luck,” Henderson said. “It gives you the opportunity to address any concerns once that time comes around.”
He also said since some do not think young people will show up to the polls, they can prove Americans wrong early on.
“I think it’s very important especially for young students to take advantage of this first day to show Americans that we’re really serious about perpetuating change for the future generations,” he said.
Sancho said help will be available for voters during early voting.
“Early voting is run by my professional staff,” Sancho said. “You are going to get the highest amount of assistance as opposed to the precincts who have individuals who only worked for us once or twice a year. Early voting employees are fully versed on voting issues.”
As part of the FAMU Voter Coalition, Henderson has been taking part in the planning of a march from the eternal flame to the courthouse Monday. He said FAMU president James Ammons and Commissioner Bill Proctor will march with the coalition beginning at 9 a.m.
He said they hope all students will take part in the march and vote early. Sancho said he is looking forward to Monday and said voters are already breaking records.
“We’ll be ready on Monday and I’ll look forward to an exciting last two weeks of the campaign we’re at a record number of registration right now, breaking the 2004 record,” Sancho said. “The last piece of the puzzle is having people come out and cast their vote.”