Get on the Early Voting Bus

Early voting bus to run Thursday and Saturday

By Missy Baxter

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Durham, NC -- Graduate student Mike Giacomelli has discovered an easier way to exercise his right to vote, thanks to Duke’s Parking and Transportation Services and the Duke Student Government.

Instead of driving downtown and searching for parking near the Durham County Board of Elections at 706 West Corporation St., he hopped on a free voting shuttle in front of Duke Chapel on Thursday at 1 p.m. Within 15 minutes, he was casting an early ballot for the May primary, including the presidential race. By 1:45 p.m., he was back on campus.

“I probably would have driven my car, but I didn’t know where the voting precinct was located, so this seemed like the easiest way,” said Giacomelli, 23, a biomedical engineering student from Tucson, Arizona.

Free voting shuttles will run again at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, April 24, and 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26. Click here for the schedule.

The shuttles, provided by Campus Services’ Parking and Transportation department, are open to students, staff and faculty who want to participate in Durham’s 2008 One-Stop-No-Excuse Absentee Voting. North Carolina law allows voters to register and cast early ballots for the Democratic presidential primary instead of waiting until May 6.

Get on the Bus

Look for the Duke Parking & Transportation shuttle with the red-white-and-blue “VOTE” logo on it at the bus stop in front of Duke Chapel on West Campus. Free voting shuttles for students, staff and faculty will depart at these times:

Thursday, April 24, at 1 and 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 26, at 1 p.m.

You are not required to sign up for a ride, but registering will help officials send the correct number of buses or vans for One-Stop-No-Excuse Absentee Voting. Click here to register on-line.
Not sure if you’re eligible to vote in Durham? For details, click here.

Need more information about the shuttles? Call Parking and Transportation Services at 684-2218.

Duke administrators have worked with the Duke Student Government to provide the shuttle service to voters for several years.

“People seem to appreciate it,” said Joyce Wagner, a Duke transportation supervisor who drove last Thursday’s shuttle. “There’s no way to determine exactly how long each trip will take because it depends on how many people ride and how long the lines are at the precinct. We do our best to get people back to campus as quickly and safely as possible.”

Freshman Andrew Brown, a Duke Student Government officer, said the free rides are “a great service” to the Duke community.

“Since Duke is a private institution, there can’t be a voting precinct on campus so the shuttles definitely help because a lot of students don’t have cars on campus,” he said. “We’re glad Parking and Transportation is providing the shuttles because we want to do everything we can to encourage everyone to vote.”