Community College Community: VOTE .....

According to MC Campus Police Chief Charles Gunn, the polling location at Midland College is enjoying a brisk turnout today.

Midland College has long provided a location for Tall City voters to cast their ballots ... and resources for lots of other, related activities, as well. Some of the first public forums for the current election year - sponsored by the League of Women Voters - were held at our main campus on N. Garfield Street, and at our south campus - the Bill Pace Cogdell Learning Center on Florida Avenue.

Over the years, Midland College has also provided faculty members for interviews on a variety of topics, with the local media.

It's also a natural location for elected officials to meet-and-greet the public. Tomorrow (November 5), for example, State Senator Kel Seliger will be here for a Town Hall Meeting at 1:30 p.m. in the Wagner-Brown Auditorium of the Allison Fine Arts Building. "Considering that we'll know the results of the election," meeting organizers say, "it should be an excellent time to ask him questions and to get his thoughts about the upcoming legislative session beginning in January."

And then there's the use of MC facilities for polling locations. The Cogdell Center just finished a successful run as an early voting location this year.

Our voting location for today - election day - is kind of the same, and kind of different. Voters from Midland County's Precinct 206 will still be going to the Midland College main campus (at 3600 N. Garfield Street) to cast their ballots ... but they'll be going to a different building. Today, voters in Precinct 206 may cast their ballots in Room 110/111 of the F. Marie Hall Academic Building, in the southeast corner of the campus, just east of the Allison Fine Arts Building, and across the loop road from the Dollye Neal Chapel. The change in buildings is because the normal polling location - Scharbauer Student Center - is closed for renovations.

Polls around Midland County are open from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. today. According to this report from KWES-TV, local election officials anticipate a very good turnout, with long lines expected first-thing-in-the-morning, durig the noon/lunch hour, and after work. According to Chief Gunn, were 2-for-2 so far, with a brisk turnout both in the early morning (those first-in-line showed up at aboyt 6:00 a.m.) and during the noon hour. He expects the predictions will hold true for the after-work hours, as well.

For more information about voting in Midland County, you can visit their elections web pages.