Inside Duke Medicine
Early voting period opens; Duke has a site
posted October 16th, 2008
No reason to wait until Election Day—early voting in North Carolina starts today.
This year there is an early voting site at Duke, offering faculty, staff and students who reside in Durham County a convenient place to cast their vote from Oct. 16 - Nov. 1.
There are seven such one-stop sites in Durham, including a Duke University site in the Old Trinity Room in the West Union.
Also new this year: If you missed the registration deadline on Oct. 10, you can still register and vote on the same day at any early voting location before Nov. 1.
View a PDF of a one-stop voting flier here.
Election officials expect a large turnout during the early voting period, which could lead to lines at the on-campus polling site . The peak times are expected to be during lunch and just after work.
To vote at the site, a voter must be 18 years old by Nov. 4, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of Durham County for at least 30 continuous days before the election.
Below are a few answers to frequently asked questions:
Can you vote at the Duke site if you are registered in another county?
Faculty and staff who live in Orange, Wake or other nearby counties outside of Durham may not vote at the Duke site and must vote in their home county.
For a list of all early voting sites in North Carolina, including those in Wake and Orange counties, click here.
Can I take time off to vote?
According to Duke policy, staff who are registered voters and unable to vote outside of regular work hours can take up to two hours of unpaid time to vote. University staff can use vacation and Health System staff can use the Short-Term Bank to cover those two hours. This time off will be scheduled by a supervisor at either the beginning or the end of the work period or at other times more advantageous to the maintenance of a department’s or unit’s work schedule.
For more information about these and other policies, please visit the Human Resources Policy Manual.