Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar
Early voting for the Houston city elections is officially open on campus and will run until Nov. 3.
Students can cast their vote in the Space City Room in Student Center South from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Additionally, voting will be open on Sunday, Oct. 29 from noon to 7 p.m.
“It’s so easy for students to vote because it’s on campus and there’s early voting so it’s even more convenient,” said hospitality and management junior Ana Gutierrez.
Houston will elect a new mayor, city controller and 16 city council members, voters will also be able to vote on 14 state and three city propositions.
There are 18 candidates running for mayor, however, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Texas Sen. John Whitmire are the front-runners, according to a recent poll by UH Hobby School of Public Affairs.
“We haven’t had a new mayor in a while so it will be interesting to see how the election turns out,” Gutierrez said.
According to UH community/campus coordinator Rohit Shajan, state proposition 5 is of importance to the university. If the proposition is passed, the Texas University Fund will allocate $3.9 billion in funding to UH, Texas Tech, Texas State and North Texas.
“Proposition 5 is important to UH because it will give us more money so we can eventually become a better rated school,” said accounting junior Yvonne Mullone.
Students may also cast their votes on election day from 7a.m. to 7p.m. at the same location.
“I think that everyone should come out and vote because it’s important to do your civic duty,” Gutierrez said.
