Mark Daniell, a senior computer science major, sat down and clicked his right as an American as he logged on to his county's Supervisor of Elections Web site. Daniell, who is registered to vote in Palm Beach County, had made an online request for an absentee ballot for the presidential election.
Registered voters can request an absentee ballot from their home county to vote by mail if they are not an official resident of the county they live in, like many students at UCF. The requests must be received by today.
Voters ages 18 to 24 had the lowest voting turnout rate with about 42 percent in the 2004 election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 23 percent of those people said they were too busy to vote or had a conflicting schedule; about 13 percent said they didn't vote because they were out of town, according to a Census report.
Three other out-of-town students will be voting through absentee ballots, too, one of whom is the creator of an absentee ballot Web site.
Aaron Bacon, a 20-year-old political communication major at Emerson College in Boston sat down at his computer to request an absentee ballot, like Daniell. But Bacon had trouble looking up and finding the information he needed. As a result, he founded BeAbsentee.org., a Web site that assists voters to request absentee ballots.
"I think it's the best way to vote," Daniell said. "It's much more convenient than going down to the polling. In 2004, I voted in person. It was a hassle, because I had to stand in line for an hour before I got to the polling place, and that was a short line. Other people I know had to wait four to five hours in line."
Bacon said he wants his Web site to change the way people view voting.
"Traditionally, when someone thinks of voting, they think only of going to the polls, which is limiting because not everyone can make it to the polls," Bacon said. "If we can [get] everyone to think of casting a vote by mail too, then a lot more people will have a picture of voting process they can participate in."
He sees absentee voting as more sensible and reasonable these days and hopes his site promotes that.
"We want people to think of absentee voting as just another way to cast a ballot," Bacon said in an e-mail interview. "In the majority of states, anyone is allowed to vote absentee, and for a lot of people, it makes sense. There is no reason to consider absentee ballots a last-minute alternative when it's legal and convenient.
"Our Web site informs people of their options and simplifies the process."
James McIntyre, a junior political science and history major at UCF, is registered in Indian River County.
"I want to vote for some people on our board of education back home," McIntyre said. "I wanted to vote for people that I know that are running for positions back there."
He said his grandfather mailed him the request form.
"It's easier," McIntyre said. "There's like eight amendments, so I can sit down and go on my computer and figure out exactly what's going on instead of standing in there and just trying to rush."
Junior psychology major Shenette Scille is from Marion County. Like McIntyre, it's her first presidential election.
"After I graduate from UCF, I most likely won't be in the Orlando area," Scille said. "So I figured to still keep where my parents are. I didn't really want to change [my registration]. I know that I definitely wasn't going to Marion County to vote.
"And I do think that this presidential election is very important, so every vote counts."
Scille said she registered to vote in front of the Student Union using her address in Marion County.
"When I received the letter, I just called and asked for an absentee ballot," Scille said.
Scille's mother told her about absentee voting so she didn't have to look it up online. Scille said that if she were by herself, she thinks she would have trouble looking up information about absentee voting.
In the end, Bacon sums up what the overall goal is for the Web site.
"In the short term, we measure success [for BeAbsentee.org] in higher voter turnout, especially among young voters," Bacon said.
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