 "Photo: Katie Bachmeyer")
 "Photo: Katie Bachmeyer")
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For the first time in UNC Asheville's 80-year history, the campus community can skip a special trip to the polls and vote on-campus at Zeis Hall, the new science building.
By noon Tuesday, 1228 votes had been cast on campus.
"Having UNC Asheville designated as a host site for one-stop voting is a wonderful opportunity to serve the university community, as well as the greater Asheville community, by providing them the chance to exercise their right to vote," said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Bill Haggard.
From Oct. 16 to Nov. 1, the campus community can both register to vote and cast their vote in room 018 of Zeis Hall. The voting station is open Monday through Saturday to students, teachers, campus employees and any Buncombe County residents.
Zeis voting captain Eva Sclippa said she saw a steady stream of voters and even a few instances of voters waiting in line since the station opened Oct. 16.
"People seem really eager. They want to vote. We had five people waiting at nine," she said, noting the station opened at 10 a.m.
"It's pretty easy," said freshman student Ashley Kraus, who voted the first day the Zeis station opened. "It's very accessible.
Despite the convenience, Kraus acknowledged she found herself unprepared to make an educated choice about several offices on a ballot with more than 30 choices. She chose to submit an incomplete ballot.
"I didn't know enough information, and I didn't want to do a straight-party vote," she said.
Sclippa said incomplete ballots are still counted.
Another voting captain, Alan Escovitz, said the campus voting station can help voters avoid being caught unprepared.
"They can look at a sample ballot in advance," he said, pointing to a stack of yellow sample ballots by the door. "And they can always come here and ask questions."
In addition to sample ballots, one-stop voting at UNCA also includes curbside voting. Curbside voters pull their vehicle into the designated area marked at Upper Lot 7A, the parking lot nearest Zeis. When a car rolls over a tube in the parking lot, voting staff inside Zeis hear a bell that lets them know someone outside wants to vote.
A staffer comes out with paperwork and a secure binder, and curbside voters fill out the ballot from inside the car.
Sclippa agreed the process is comparable to full service at a gas station.
While some disabled people use curbside voting, anyone can use it, including people who are elderly, sick or having any kind of difficulty getting to the polls, she said.
"There's no limit to who can use it," Sclippa continued. "Someone who's just lost a loved one and doesn't want to get out of their car. Anyone."
Several members of the campus community helped bring early voting to UNCA, including Haggard, Chancellor Anne Ponder and Special Assistant to the Chancellor Wilma Sherrill.
As part of the process of bring early voting to UNCA, Sherrill met with leaders from campus societies for student Democrats and student Republicans, as well as the student body president.
An experienced politician who served in the North Carolina General Assembly for 12 years, Sherrill said she knew the campus faced a difficult approval process from the Board of Elections. State requirements for early voting stations include a certain number of nearby handicapped parking spaces, certain kinds of electrical hookups and an entrance used only for the purpose of voting, she said.
"This is all by state statute. You don't just say 'We're going to do this.' The Board of Elections has to approve everything you do. It took some time. It's pretty complicated," she said.
Sherrill said enthusiasm for on-campus voting is high.
"I'm excited we have it. I'm thrilled to death. I'm glad we have it for the Democrats, the Republicans and the independents, too."
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