UCI votes

All over the country, record numbers of voters are standing in lines to cast their votes in what many are calling the most historic election of our time. Anteaters are no exception, lining up in droves at the campus’s five polling locations, many conveniently located near residence halls.

More than 1,800 voters got a head start and voted early at the UC Irvine Student Center. Countywide, 21,000 voters cast early ballots.

Many students are first-time voters and the Associated Students of UCI took advantage of their enthusiasm by registering 4,000 new voters in the weeks leading up to the election. According to ASUCI external affairs director Andres Gonzalez, the effort involved visiting dorms and lecture halls, and setting up booths along Ring Mall. The Orange County Registrar of Voters reported 100,000 more voters registered for the 2008 election than for 2004.