CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Donna Tang, a doctoral candidate in cultural studies, casts her ballot on the first day of early voting on campus yesterday.

The early polling site on campus, meant to increase student voter turnout in the upcoming election, opened yesterday and stayed busy for most of the day.

The UA's first on-campus early polling site, which has nine voting booths, opened at 8 a.m. yesterday and had a steady flow of people throughout the day, with lines extending out the door after the lunch hour.

Alistair Chapman, Associated Students of the University of Arizona president, said by 4:15 p.m. yesterday, 210 people had voted at the site.

Chapman said he expects the number of voters to continue to increase throughout the week.

"Students are procrastinators, so a lot will probably wait until Thursday or Friday to vote," he said.

He said he thinks the early polling site will increase the number of student voters.

Chapman, who did not vote today but said he would vote by the end of the week, said when he voted four years ago he had to wait in line for four hours before casting his ballot. He said not all students have that much time.

"Students are busy; they're going to classes, meetings, work, and by the time they go to the polling site it might not be open," Chapman said. "With this, students can vote on their lunch break or in between classes, it's not an inconvenience."

The polling site will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Friday.

Chapman said other campuses that have had similar polling sites have seen a huge increase in student voter turnout.

The polling site is the result of months of negotiations between ASUA and the Pima County Recorder's Office and has been described as the capstone of ASUA's effort to promote civic engagement.

Chapman said ASUA has helped register voters, brought political speakers to campus and sent buses to the presidential debate in Tempe in an effort to increase student involvement. Chapman said the voting booth is the most important aspect of ASUA's efforts.

The polling site, which is in the ASUA offices on the third floor of the Student Union Memorial Center, can accommodate anyone living in Pima County, regardless of district, because polling staff has all district ballots on hand.

The site is staffed by the Pima County Recorder's office, and ASUA volunteers are on hand to control lines and make sure no one is campaigning within 75 feet of the site.

Chapman said ASUA wanted an early voting site to allow all Pima County registered voters to vote on campus. Chapman said many students commute to campus and would have to find a polling site in their district if they waited until Nov. 2 to vote.

The closest place to campus at which students living on campus could vote on Nov. 2 is First Christian Church, 740 E. Speedway Blvd.

Lindsay Burger, speech, language and hearing sciences sophomore, said she voted yesterday because it was convenient.

"I already knew who I was going to vote for, so why should I wait 'til Election Day when I'll probably have to wait in line," she said.

Jennifer Fowler, criminal justice junior, said yesterday was the first time she has ever voted and said the polling site on campus was the smartest thing ASUA could have done.

"I'm way excited, I'm in the UA Young Democrats and this is the final way to get active," Fowler said. "(The election) affects every single person, and students need to be heard."

Fowler said she thought the voting site on campus would get more students to vote because of its convenience.

Karla Rundell, psychology freshman, said she voted yesterday because she won't have time to vote on Election Day.

Rundell said she's seen more students getting involved in this election than in past elections.

"I had some friends who didn't vote in the last election and they're voting in this one, they've realized, 'Hey, I need to get involved,'" Rundell said.

The site is one of nine early polling sites in the Tucson area, according to F. Ann Rodriguez, Pima County Recorder.

Rodriguez said ASUA began working with the Recorder's Office in mid-July to get a polling site on campus. She said ASUA did most of the work in getting the site.

Rodriguez said the turnout yesterday was comparable to election day turnouts.

"All of our early voting sites are hopping," she said. "It's going magnificently."

Rodriguez said she often goes to government classes and tries to get students to register to vote. She said she explains the impact of government officials to the students.

"The president of the United States is a very important office," Rodriguez said, "but it's the things that are done locally that are going to impact your environment."