The 2012 Presidential Election has already begun. Early voting started on the 27th and will run through Saturday, November 3. In order to vote, students need a valid photo ID which includes a Florida drivers’ license, U.S. passport, military ID or a student ID with a card that has a signature (credit card, debit card, etc.).
Travis Abercrombie, the Public Information Coordinator for the Supervisor of Elections Office, advises students not to wait until the last minute to get informed.
“Be familiar with that ballot, it’s a six page ballot, it’s monstrous and it really can be intimidating,” he said. “Google is your friend, it’s like taking a take home test. You can visit our website votehillsborough.org [where] you can fill out the bubbles in your office, in your room, where ever you want to do it and you can even take the sample ballot into the polling place with you.”
Early voting is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Saturday, Nov. 3 at 15 different locations throughout Hillsborough County. If students do not take advantage of early voting and choose to wait to vote on the actual Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 6, voting must go to their assigned voting precinct. If students registered to vote through campus, the correct precinct is the Greater Bethel Baptist Church. A 2012 sample ballot shows all the categories for voting which include president and vice president, sheriff, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, United States senator, board of county commissioners, justice of the Supreme Court, city council members, etc.
Yasaman Sherbaf can be reached at yasaman.sherbaf@theminaretonline.com